I veiw it more as a Bakerite endorsing a Reaganite. Likely, no.
In general, no poll of SC means anything unless the samples were after McCain’s disaster in Michigan.
The one thing fairly clear in them all . . . is that Thompson can’t get traction. Hunter can’t either. They didn’t work hard enough . . . with “hard work” being defined as spending a year building a team and raising the money necessary to compete in an $850 million campaign. If you fail to work hard playing in this league, you will wind up in the cellar.
All that being said, South Carolina is less important this year than perhaps in the past 30 (and likely the next 30). The south made, collectively, a horrendous array of decisions about primary scheduling. They will have little influence this year.
Saturday is actually going to be about Nevada. A near 3 way split in South Carolina will render it meaningless beyond being the unfortunate grave of Thompson’s campaign.