Nikki Hale banks on long odds and Super Tuesday’

Her backers are focusing on early March contests to keep her presidential hopes alive

ROCK HILL, South Carolina - Backers of Mrs Nikki Haley's quest for the Republican presidential nomination are pouring money into states that hold early March nominating contests in a bid to keep her candidacy alive, regulatory filings and pro-Haley political operatives said.

Those efforts have been ramped up in recent days and reflect a growing belief that Mrs Haley will not pull off an upset win in her home state of South Carolina, where former president Donald Trump holds a deep well of support.

The former governor has been criss-crossing the state ahead of its Feb 24 primary but has largely failed to chip away at Trump's lead in opinion polls of more than 30 points.

Six analysts and people supporting Mrs Haley's nomination now say the former United States ambassador to the United Nations will have her best and last shot to claw back into the race during the first five days of March.

That is when voters from 21 states and territories go to polls, most of them on March 5 for "Super Tuesday".

Many of those states, like Massachusetts and Virginia, are laced suburbawith college-educated nites who turned out for Mrs Haley in earlier nominating contests elsewhere.

"South Carolina is a really rough state. It's a very Trump-friendly state," said Mr Robert Schwartz, the co-founder of Primary Pivot, an outside super political action committee (PAC) supporting Mrs Haley's bid.