Republican voters in Richland and Lexington counties were split among Trump, Rubio and U.S. Sen.
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Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump gives a thumbs up during a South Carolina Republican primary night event, Saturday, Feb. 20, 2016 in Spartanburg, S.C. Trump is the victor in the South Carolina Republican primary. But Cruz did better with values-based voters, while Rubio did better with those who were looking ahead to November. Ted Cruz illustrated gaps in his less-than-robust ground operation, and questions remain about the extent to which he can translate leads in preference polls and large rally crowds into votes. He has mocked, taunted and threatened the party establishment on his way to his undisputed front-runner status. As Bush has struggled to gain traction, many donors have pressured him to improve his performance or drop out.
He’s done it by bringing the party along to his positions.
“The people of Iowa, New Hampshire and SC have spoken”, said Bush, who had poor finishes in all three states. Marco Rubio were slugging it out for second place.
“No Republican has ever won both New Hampshire and SC and not been the nominee”, said Evan Smith, CEO and Editor-In-Chief of the Texas Tribune, in a tweet.
And that’s especially bad news for the quintessential establishment favorite, Jeb Bush.
Bush was introduced by South Carolina Sen.
Bush’s decision could reshape the race, with Rubio and Ohio Gov. John Kasich hoping to pick up most of his supporters.
But Trump notably made no mention of Jeb Bush, who announced he is suspending his campaign earlier in the evening.
Rubio is battling with Ted Cruz to finish second in the SC primary, with votes still being counted late Saturday night.
In what appeared to be a jab at Republican frontrunner Donald Trump, whom Bush has accused of lacking ideas, the former Florida Governor said, “ideas matter, policy matters”. Trump has hammered Bush throughout the campaign. Runner-up Bernie Sanders is expected to get 14 delegates. The real estate business mogul earned 32.4 percent of the vote across the state over his five opponents, according to unofficial results.
Trump said he goes “back to war tomorrow and predicted he will do “very, very well” in the next Republican contest in Nevada”.
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Next for the candidates are caucuses Tuesday in Nevada, where Hillary Clinton won the Democratic caucuses on Saturday, and a string of Southern primaries on March 1.
