'Visceral hatred': Accusations fly between rival GOP campaigns as smears ramp up

South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley are both fighting against former President Donald Trump for the 2024 presidential nomination. But increasingly, reported The Daily Beast, the two South Carolina candidates are fighting each other as "visceral hatred" boils over between campaign officials and insiders in both camps.

This comes after Scott recently claimed that Republican rivals are "planting stories" in the press casting doubt about his relationship status. Scott is unmarried but says he is in a relationship with a woman, and party operatives have reportedly sought to raise questions about whether Scott's girlfriend actually exists — with “a person working on behalf of one of Scott’s Republican opponents” giving a "dossier" on Scott's relationships to The Washington Post, apparently trying to plant rumors about Scott's sexual orientation.

According to The Beast, Haley denies planting any opposition research about Scott, but some members of the camp seem to suspect her campaign. “I think it speaks to a desperation,” said a source close to Scott. “She thought that she could own this state, and Senator Scott came out of nowhere and took a lot of the infrastructure from her.”

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All of this comes as neither Haley nor Scott appears to be making any significant traction, and polls show Trump is consolidating a 40-point lead over his closest competitors.

According to the report, both Scott and Haley are hoping for a better-than-expected performance in Iowa. If one or the other has an unusually bad showing, they will face tremendous pressure to drop out and clear the field for the other contenders — but if both take some amount of delegates, they could continue fighting through New Hampshire.

“Listen, Trump’s running away with this thing and DeSantis is flailing out, but Tim has some hope in Iowa,” said a GOP strategist who is not supporting either candidate. “Eventually, one of them is probably gonna have to drop out, and eventually one is gonna take the other on. You can’t keep ignoring the candidate who’s taking up your lane.”