IRMO, S.C. — Barry Boyett is a self-described hillbilly from Alabama. He dons blue jeans and what appears to be a homemade yellow T-shirt with “You can do it Nikki !!” printed on the back. His long white hair is tied in a loose ponytail at the nape of his neck, and he shoulders a proportionately large walking stick as he stands at the edge of the Nikki Haley rally he has just attended at Irmo Town Park.
“I always go for whoever’s the best person,” Boyett proclaims. His Alabama twang prevails in his drawn-out vowels and slow, rhythmic pronunciation.
He says that he appreciates Haley’s honesty, and believes in the sincerity of her statements and policies. He’s lived in South Carolina for the past 60 years and experienced her 8-year stint as governor first-hand.
The former construction worker explains that he voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020. When it comes to former President Donald Trump, Boyett is unequivocal. “Trump scares the everloving devil out of me.”
In 2016, Trump won the state in the general election with 55% of the votes compared to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s 40%. Four years later, Trump claimed the same percentage, again winning 55% of votes to Joe Biden’s 43%.
The state’s Republican primaries were canceled in 2020, but the former reality TV star came out on top in 2016, with roughly one-third of South Carolina Republicans casting their ballots in his favor.
Will it be different on Saturday? Haley sure hopes so. But Annenberg Media interviews with voters across the state the week before the primary mostly pointed to a bad night for the former governor.
“I’m tired of the two old men,” states Karla Koenig. She’s at the same Irmo Town Park rally as Boyett, wearing a navy puffer jacket covered in iron-on patches about her favorite things — Pokémon and Batman — as well as the countries she had visited while serving in the U.S. Air Force. She’s a disabled veteran and says she voted for Trump in 2016 and Biden in 2020. She explains that she’s frustrated with the Biden administration because of high inflation and a competitive job market, but that the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol was a huge turning point for her potential support of Trump again. “I’m really upset about January and the lady dying who was in the Air Force,” she explains with tears brimming in her eyes. “I’m sorry, it gets me emotional.”
For many of the Republicans voting in the primaries, the fight is about fixing the mistakes they believe the Biden presidency has brought.
“The view of America has definitely changed in a negative way over the last couple of years,” says Hillary Higgins, a dance studio owner and single mom of three. She’s just finished early voting in Lexington, a suburban area not far from the state capital, and as a U.S. military daughter, she’s adamant in expressing her support for Trump. “We’ve seen in the past that [Trump]’s really good at defusing situations that are high, especially emotionally,” she explains.
Roy and Gretchen Parker have also just finished early voting at the same Lexington location. They’re retired, with Roy having worked in the agricultural chemical business and Gretchen having worked as an occupational therapist. The couple explains the motivation behind their votes: “Everything the Democrats are doing, and everything they’ve undone from the Trump presidency.”
When asked about specific policies they’d like to see overturned, both are quick to point out the pitfalls of the current immigration system and how “All these people are just coming in and over-running us.”
They are in favor of Trump’s “Stay in Mexico” policy, citing concerns about gang violence and the protection of sanctuary cities.
“I’m afraid we’re going to lose our culture,” said Gretchen Parker. “And I’m afraid for young people who have to live with the changes that are happening. Because you’ve never experienced what we’ve experienced.”
Although they admit that Haley was an “excellent governor,” the Parkers say the former governor just doesn’t have the same success rate that Trump has in their eyes.
Right outside the front door of the voting center, 18-year-old first-time voter Christopher Hopkins II explains that the Trump presidency brought in an enthralling new age of entertaining politics, which is among the biggest drawing factors for him as a young voter. His dad smiles beside him as his son talks about his support for the former president.
For foreign policy, Hopkins explains that America’s withdrawals from the Middle East have allowed terrorist groups to roam free, “We quite literally got the Taliban rollerskating down the streets now in night vision goggles.” A video released three months ago by The Telegraph corroborates this claim. The student is adamantly explains that something like this would not happen under a Trump presidency.
He says that inflation and the job market are the most notable America-based failures of the Biden administration that he’s hoping to see changed, and it’s a change that he doesn’t believe Haley will have the tenacity to make.
“I feel like a lot of people still are going to vote for Nikki Haley because she’s local … but I don’t feel like she’s going to be as strong as Trump,” Hopkins says. And this sentiment may be a pretty good summation of the aura of Republican politics in Haley’s South Carolina.
Back at the rally at Irmo Town Park, Boyett slowly walks past the event barricades, his yellow t-shirt and walking stick disappearing as he climbs the hill to the street. His fearful words about a second Trump presidency still hang in the air.
Asked if the general election was to come down to Biden and Trump once again, he had paused before answering, “I’d have to go with Biden.”