Haley may be bracing for a loss, but home state supporters vow to stick with her until the end

Voters wait to cast their ballots in Johns Island, South Carolina, on 24 February 2024. Photograph: Erik S Lesser/EPA

Cindy Tripp, still recovering from a surgery she’d undergone earlier that week, convinced her husband to accompany her to Patriots Point on Friday night to watch Nikki Haley rally supporters one last time before the voters of South Carolina rendered their verdict in the Republican presidential primary.

“I’m not supposed to be here,” Tripp said, laughing as the sun set over the USS Yorktown aircraft carrier, the backdrop for Haley’s rally on the eve of the Republican primary. “But I couldn’t miss this because I’m so proud of her.”