Jumbled GOP field hopes for survival in South Carolina

Jeb Bush has struggled in the fight for the Republican nomination and now he’s asking his big brother – George W. Bush, the 43rd president of the United States – for help.

Two days later on Fox News Christie said Rubio’s campaign consists of “a lot of pre-canned answers”. But Trump did roughly the same among people who feel betrayed by Republican politicians and those who don’t.

Whether that’s true or not remains to be seen, but he also didn’t miss the chance to take a swipe at Hillary Clinton for her loss in New Hampshire to Sen.

Republican presidential contender John Kasich spent time and money winning over New Hampshire voters.

SC is a hugely important state for the younger Bush, who now trails four of his Republican rivals in the delegate count. He again touted his million-plus donors who have given him 3.5 million donations averaging $27, versus Clinton’s million-dollar super PAC contributions. Ted Cruz in last week’s Iowa caucuses, the first nominating contest. He tells you what he’s going to do, but we won’t tell you how he’s going to do it. I think once this race narrows, the pressure will be on him …

Christie’s departure, along with the recently announced exit of Carly Fiorina, leaves seven major Republican candidates in the race. She was bolstered by a strong first debate performance in August but struggled to pick up support.

Rick Santorum started it. Chris Christie kicked down the door.

As the only New Jersey Republican elected statewide, Christie certainly will be urged to run for Senate in 2018, especially if the current occupant of the seat, U.S. Sen.

The Associated Press reported that Christie told his staff he was suspending his campaign during a meeting in New Jersey on Wednesday.

Both Christie and Fiorina faced uncertain prospects in the next GOP contest, the SC primary. But a mood of pessimism does not appear to be a distinguishing feature of Trump voters.

Who had it worst in New Hampshire? Still, Rubio has more support from them than anyone else in the race, and that backing is not just from members of Congress. He now has a large lead in support from current and former state legislators. But he would need to do well even in conservative states, beginning in SC.

Seeking votes at a local business in Charleston, Kasich worked to burnish his reputation as a results-oriented leader. “And if the country doesn’t solve its problems, it gets flabby”. Unlike John Kasich and Jeb Bush – the governor and former governor who he was often grouped with – Christie had campaigned hard in Iowa.

He then took a subtle dig at former Florida Gov. Bush, albeit not by name.

A senior aide confirmed to Reuters on Wednesday that Mr Christie would pull out, a day after the combative Republican’s sixth-place finish in the New Hampshire primary raised doubts about his viability as a candidate. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee hosted a Fox News Channel show in between campaigns.