As if former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley losing to "None of These Candidates" unopposed in Nevada's Republican primary was not enough, former President Donald Trump leads in her home state by 37 points, and it will "only get worse" for Haley on Super Tuesday, according to the latest Morning Consult poll released Wednesday.
Trump leads Haley 68% to 31% in her home state, which is next up on the GOP primary calendar later this month.
"Unfortunately for Haley, our data suggests things will only get worse as she heads toward Super Tuesday on March 5, when conservatives in many states across the country look primed to head to the polls and deliver a resounding victory for Trump," according to Morning Consult pollster Cameron Easley.
"Of the Super Tuesday states we're tracking, Haley looks best positioned to garner support in Massachusetts and North Carolina, at 28% and 23%. But it appears inconceivable that she would score a victory even there: Trump leads her by 41 points in the Bay State among potential GOP primary voters, and by an even larger 54-point margin in the Tar Heel State."
Trump is expected to dominate Thursday's caucus in Nevada, which will award all of the state primary's delegates.
Haley's campaign is determined to remain in the race, but the data is unkind even if the money is still coming in — most of which is from Democrat and anti-Trump forces, according to Trump and his campaign officials.
"Haley is vowing to continue her campaign against front-runner Donald Trump at least through the Super Tuesday contests in early March, but state-level Morning Consult surveys suggest that's a fool's errand," according to Morning Consult's Easley.
"The wealthy Republican donors who continue to bankroll Haley's campaign appear to be just as well off setting their cash on fire. The only thing left to do in this race is count the votes, which are sure to show Trump with a lot compared to Haley's relatively few."
Haley lost by nearly 33 points (63.2%-30.5%) to "None of These Candidates," which is ostensibly the Trump vote in Nevada after he declined to register for a contest that does not award delegates as Thursday's caucus will.
The poor polling does not trump fundraising, however, as former Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., repeatedly notes on Newsmax. Still, the path to catching the GOP front-runner is not there in the data.
"It's a familiar refrain in states located further down the calendar for the Republican nomination race," Easley said. "From Arizona to Wisconsin — with Florida, Georgia, and Ohio in between — at least three-quarters of potential Republican primary voters in each state say they plan to vote for Trump in their state's nominating contest."
The Morning Consult polls among likely voters in 23 upcoming GOP primary states was conducted among likely voters Jan. 23 to Feb. 4. The margins of error are roughly 5 percentage points, but none of the races is close to contested, according to the poll analysis.