democrats republicans and

independents, on the lines. let's turn to campaign 2024 and we are joined by joseph bustos the state newspaper out of columbia, south carolina. good morning and thank you for joining us. guest: thanks for having me. host: the democratic primary will take place this saturday in south carolina. we saw president biden was in

yesterday. where did he go and what has been the presence of the biden campaign in south carolina compared to those who are working the primary? guest: this past weekend he came to columbia and spoke at the first of the nation celebration at a dinner put on by the state party. he also stopped by a barbershop and went to a church on sunday. he has been doing those efforts. he's trying to make the same splash he did before the primary. a congressman was in town and he was speaking to small groups to get as many as people as possible. host: south carolina has not voted democrat since jimmy carter i believe. the president saying there is a chance south carolina could flip blue this cycle? what has been the message? guest: the messaging has been

democrats tried to get through the democratic primary. south carolina was moved up to the leadoff spot as a nod to black voters, rural voters and southern voters. it's a state that compelled president biden in 2023 after he lost in iowa and new hampshire and nevada. it's meant to show more diversity in the electorate to highlight the voters that helped him get to the presidency. host: joe biden will actually be on the ballot unlike new hampshire. what do we expect on saturday? guest: the latest polling done in early january by emerson college has joe biden with 69% of democratic voters in the state. 22% are undecided. president biden is one of the

favorites to win the primary and dean phillips this past weekend was lowering his expectations and raising biden expectations by telling me he expected biden to get 95% of the vote in the primary. we will see what happens. it's easier when you are on the ballot and not a write in candidate for a sitting president but we will see how much he gets. host: the republican primary is february 24 which is three weeks after the democratic primary. what does the polling show they are and how far does nikki haley trail donald trump? guest: the former governor south carolina nikki haley is coming back to her home state and she's hoping for a big bounce out of south carolina but donald trump is very popular in south carolina and the latest polling at nikki haley trailing by 29 points. we haven't seen any polling in south carolina or any public polling since early january. we will see what has changed if anything we will see if she's

moved up or of trump is lost support. hopefully, we will have some polling in the next few days, maybe this week. host: what kind of bid is nikki haley making it or his state at a time when some say after iowa and new hampshire, it's time for her to step out of the race? guest: her campaign tells resou. they have a $4 million ad buy on the day of the republican primary election. she is campaigning and was here the day after she was in north charleston the day after the new hampshire primary. she spent this weekend campaigning in republican hotspots in the state going first to the upstate area and going to the myrtle beach area yesterday. she has been on the ground.

we've seen advertisements for doorknocking for nikki haley and she has support from her super pac and the american prosperity super pac that is supporting nikki haley. host: and support from congressman ralph norman and th to republicans in south carolina delegation. what's the impact of most of the delegation's of -- endorsing donald trump? guest: you find the establishment of the party sees trump is the favorite and they are rallying around him. some of the key endorsements we saw were senator tim scott endorsing donald trump before the new hampshire primary and then it's a congresswoman nancy mace on the sidelines until recently and congressman chuck duncan said he did not plan to endorse before the primary. they are all now backing trump area it's a sign the establishment things trump is

the presumptive nominee and they want to be on his team before this key primary. host: you're covering it for the state newspaper. what is your most anticipated event in the republican primary coming up most anticipated event in the democratic primary? guesthe democratic primary, we will see what the turnout is like, how many people actually show up to vote. south carolina, you don't have -- you have a choice and you can vote one party or another so we will see how they decide to vote in the democratic party and we get a few more people voting in republican party, than what's normally expected, if there are two truly competitive primers going on, i think that will be key to see independent voters and democratic voters as to how many will jump into the republican primary even though i don't believe or the republican

chairman doesn't believe it would be enough to sway the result one way or another. i'm interested to see how many crossover. if they have some influence over what happens on the republican side. host: in the coming weeks, it would be a good week to get a subscription to the state newspaper out of columbia, south carolina.

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