Ted Cruz, R-Texas, pauses while speaking at his South Carolina primary night rally at the South Carolina State Fairgrounds in Columbia, S.C., Saturday, Feb. 20, 2016.
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The 69-year-old Mr Trump took more than 30 per cent of votes, leaving senators Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio to fight for a distant second place.
“The evangelical vote was supposed to power Cruz, and born-again Christians turned out in large numbers: White evangelicals made up more than two-thirds of the electorate, 67 percent, up from 64 percent in 2012.”
The former Florida governor has leaned heavily on his family connections to carry him in the state, bringing in his brother, former President George W. Bush, and his mother, former First Lady Barbara Bush, this week to campaign for him. “I think I’m doing better than that”, he said.
But ultimately, despite starting his campaign with the support of a 0 million super PAC, Republican voters could not be persuaded to support yet another Bush candidate over the likes of non-traditional contenders like frontrunner Donald Trump.
In another significant development, the Republican presidential pack shrank to five as Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush said he is suspending his campaign after a poor showing in SC.
She added: “That’s a question that people are trying to sort through…I know that I have to make my case”.
The next Democratic primary is in SC on Feb 27 but there Mrs Clinton has a clear advantage.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton won the Nevada Caucuses on the same day by a somewhat thinner margin.
Clinton and Trump’s victories put them in strong positions ahead of “Super Tuesday” when the multi-state voting contests begin on March 1. With about 88 per cent of precincts reporting, Clinton was at 52.6 percent to 47.4 per cent for Sanders.
“Some may have doubted us, but we never doubted each other”, Mrs Clinton told her cheering supporters during a victory rally in Las Vegas.
“What that’s done to the race is at this point we’ve seen the field narrow dramatically and there is only one strong conservative who has a path to winning”, Cruz said Sunday on Face the Nation. Republicans will hold their own caucuses in Nevada on Tuesday.
Trump’s victory capped a week in which he called rivals liars, blamed House Speaker Paul Ryan for the GOP’s loss in the 2012 presidential race, and even tangled with Pope Francis.
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Both candidates have said repeatedly that they would like to run against each other in a general election. “I have very good competition”.
