Trump homes in on South Carolina as rivals left lagging

South Carolina holds its Republican primary this Saturday, and according the polls and the betting, the Palmetto State will vote in a significant and large victory for Donald Trump.

Having been beaten into second in Iowa by Ted Cruz, Trump bounced back in New Hampshire to claim more than 35 per cent of the vote, over 20 per cent ahead of nearest rival John Kasich.

With neither Cruz nor Marco Rubio yet to really shine in the early states, Trump’s two most likely foes in the fight to be named Republican nominee are in line for another set-back this weekend.

A recent poll from Bloomberg has Trump dominating in the State across almost every demographic, while noting that the former Apprentice host is on course for 36 per cent of the vote.

With the poll also suggesting over 60 per cent of Trump voters are hard-set on their decision, there seems little reason to go against the 1/25 on the 69-year-old claiming the South Carolina primary.

The real estate mogul may be regularly offensive to various demographics, but a host of his proposed policies are finding plenty of favour in South Carolina, and many voters are willing to overlook some of his controversial comments.

One of Trump’s strongest agendas in the south-east is his hard-line approach to trade, with proposals to impose tariffs on imported goods finding agreement among a reputed 70 per cent of likely voters who would support levies on goods manufactured outside the U.S.

Should you think it worth going against the ever-unpredictable Trump, Ted Cruz is next in the betting for the state at 10/1, with Marco Rubio at 16s.

Kasich, second in New Hampshire, has failed to build momentum and is very much lagging at 50/1, while Jeb Bush, fresh from some controversial tweeting this week available at 33/1.

Cruz however is struggling for support, with a survey last week of over 500 likely Republican voters stating they find the Florida senator simply too young to be US President, while some iffy live debate performances have also hindered his chances.

In what has already been a somewhat ill-fought campaign from many contenders, things took another turn this week when the 45-year-old tore into Trump for threatening to sue him over an ad campaign.

It remains to be seen what impact, if any, that has on the results, but if Trump does canter to a large victory, the 10/11 on him being named Republican nominee would surely take a hit, as could the 7/2 odds on him to be US President.

With Trump also expected to do well in Nevada – his Las Vegas links hand him the initiative – the businessman could quickly build momentum across the next two states, and there seems to be little his opponents can do about it.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.