Open primary: 40% of Haley vote in SC came from Biden Democrats | Eastern NC Now

Open primaries allow Democrats to meddle in Republican primaries, and that threat again raised its ugly head in South Carolina, where exit polls showed that 40% of those voting in the Republican primary for Nikki Haley were Democrats who voted for Biden in 2020 and will vote for him again in November.  As in Iowa and New Hampshire, which also have open primaries, this accounted for around half of the votes Haley received.  There were active and organized campaigns in all three states to encourage Democrats to vote in the GOP primary to try to dent Trump. In Iowa they called it "Hold Your Nose for Haley."

Obviously, this is not healthy for the Republican Party, and rules should be changed to liimit participation, especially in critical early primaries to only bona fide Republicans.  In 2008, exit polls showed that it was Democrats who gave John McCain his critical early primary victories in New Hampshire and South Carolina and he would have lost both states if only Republicans had been voting.  Without those Democrats skewing the GOP nomination to McCain, the party would likely have had a stronger nominee who could have beaten Obama.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/02/nearly-half-nikki-haleys-voters-south-carolina-open/