The Heartlander has obtained a series of mailers to South Carolina voters prodding “everyone” who didn’t vote in the Feb. 3 Democrat primary to vote against former President Donald Trump in the Republican primary on Saturday.
It’s no secret rival Nikki Haley is relying on non-Republican voters in the state to compete against Trump. A new Suffolk University/USA TODAY poll released Tuesday has Trump up 63-35% in the state over the former South Carolina governor, a nearly 2-to-1 margin.
But the mailers – by a Republican candidate, no less – are a brazen appeal to non-Republicans to alter the party’s primary results.
South Carolina features an open primary in which voters can cast a ballot in either party’s primary, though not both.
Although the mailers don’t come from the Haley campaign itself, the organization named on the mailers, Stand for America Inc. (and SFA Fund), out of Houston, Texas, is a 501c4 Haley started to raise money and raise her profile.
The organization sent out at least four different mailers imploring South Carolina voters of all stripes to participate in the GOP primary in order to defeat Trump.
“I am planning to vote for Nikki Haley on February 24th in the Republican Presidential Primary and make my voice count!!!” one mailer quotes an anonymous “concerned voter.”
“Now is the time to vote for a stronger future and a chance to defeat Joe Biden in November.
P.S. If you didn’t vote on February 3rd, you are eligible to vote on February 24th!”
A second flier, also reminding recipients they’re eligible to vote Saturday if they didn’t Feb. 3, reads:
“The Republican Presidential Primary is far from over.
DON’T SIT THIS ELECTION OUT.
You have a clear choice between Donald Trump or NIKKI HALEY.
Use your voice by voting for Nikki Haley on February 24th.”
A third mailer directs recipients to visit the State Election Commission website “to make a plan to vote on February 24th” – possibly misleading some to believe the mailer is from the government.
Likewise, a fourth mailer appears to mimic an air of officialdom with the proclamation:
“NOTICE OF ELIGIBILITY
IMPORTANT PRIMARY ELECTION ON FEBRUARY 24TH
ALL VOTERS ARE ELIGIBLE*
*Excluding voters who voted in the February 3rd Democratic Primary.
Time is running out. You have a choice.
Vote for NIKKI HALEY against Donald Trump.”
The Heartlander’s source for the mailers said they were proffered by “a Democrat friend who thinks these are unscrupulous tactics. I do not know of any Republicans who received these, so I can only assume they are going to Dems only.”
