Candidates were also trying to stoke some badly needed momentum heading into the next phase of the campaign: March 1’s Super Tuesday.
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As the undisputed Republican front-runner, Trump was a popular target in the final-hours’ scramble for votes. From humanizing moments to tensions with religious leaders, the countdown to Saturday’s primary has been anything but tiresome in the Palmetto State.
Donald Trump deflected criticisms from the Pope and opened a new can of worms Friday by blasting Apple for not helping the Federal Bureau of Investigation crack the San Bernardino terror suspect’s iPhone.
Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio greets supporters as he arrives to speak during a campaign rally in North Charleston, South Carolina.
SC advertises its primary as “First in the South” and Republicans there take great pride in the ability to predict the eventual GOP nominee.
Another rival wasn’t so ready Friday to concede anything to Trump.
“Every minute that you’re not on the phone calling friends and loved ones, spend beseeching God, praying for this country, that this spirit of revival that is sweeping this country continue and grow, and that we awaken the body of Christ”, Cruz said. While losing the Iowa caucuses on Feb.1, Trump won the primary held in New Hampshire last week. “We ended up winning more votes than any Republican in the history of the Iowa caucuses”.
Trump also recited a number of positions that have fueled his front-running campaign: A proposed wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, complaints about drug trafficking and illegal immigration across that border, getting rid of Obamacare, pledges to forge better trade deals, and the self-financing of his presidential campaign.
What type of primary does SC have?
“We fear the worst dirty tricks are yet to come” from Cruz’s team, Conant said.
At the same time, ironically, Trump, who is being targeted in this pro-Cruz ad, has grabbed the spotlight time and again in this campaign with impolitic rhetoric that threatens the GOP’s diversity effort. He even put it on a baseball cap. Bush stood at fifth place with eight percent of support. Upon leaving polling stations, only eight per cent of respondents said abortion was their top issue; 85 per cent said it was the economy or federal deficit. Trump appears to be leading the pack. And former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, after losing the coveted endorsement of South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley to Rubio, is running low on cash.
His unpopularity with other factions of the party could hurt him if the field narrows – which is why he’d have reason to hope for strong, campaign-sustaining performances Saturday by that latter trio.
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“People like Donald Trump are always butting their noses into other people’s business”, the voice on the robocall said. Marco Rubio. Residents told The Washington Post, automated calls from Remington Research pose as surveys but quickly turn negative if respondents answer favorably of Rubio or Trump.
