The still-busy and divided anti-Trump faction, counting for about two thirds of Republican voters in SC, faces a race against time to pick a main challenger.
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The win is Trump’s second in the first three, early-state contests and now focuses the debate on whether any the five remaining candidates can stop him, in part by taking the support for Jeb Bush, who suspended his campaign after a disappointing fourth-place finish on Saturday in SC.
Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump grabbed a big win in the SC primary on Saturday, while Democrat Hillary Clinton breathed life into her sluggish campaign with a victory over Bernie Sanders in Nevada.
Calling Saturday “the beginning of the real Republican primary”, Rubio added, “We went through the semifinals and quarterfinals and I think you’re down to a core of three candidates running full-scale national campaigns”. He won 44 of the 50 delegates up for grabs in SC after winning in New Hampshire and coming in second to Sen.
Noting the number of candidates in the race are dividing up close to 70 percent of the vote, Rubio said, “We had a very unusual circumstance”.
Meanwhile, in Nevada, Hillary Clinton defeated Sen. With 99 per cent of precincts reporting, Rubio is narrowly leading Cruz with just over 22 per cent. Trump leads with 33 per cent.
Cruz worked to turn out the state’s sizable bloc of evangelical voters, while Rubio hoped to get a late boost from Gov. Nikki Haley’s endorsement.
Bush did not wait long to fold.
“I want to begin by thanking the people of SC”.
“It’s tough, it’s nasty, it’s mean, it’s vicious”, Trump said of the rollicking presidential campaign.
“The people of Iowa and New Hampshire and SC have spoken, and I really respect their decision”, Bush said in a concession speech on Sunday.
The third nominating contests of the United States presidential race became a matter of momentum stopped, on the Democratic side, and momentum powering on, on the Republican side.
“I walk in and they all have special interest lobbyist and donors sitting in the room and I don’t have any donors because I don’t have any special interests and I don’t have any lobbyists”, Trump told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos. “When you win, it’s attractive”.
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But South Carolina awards all of its delegates to the statewide victor and the victor of each congressional district.
