Election Takeaways: A boost for front-runners Clinton, Trump

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.

Texas Senator Ted Cruz and FlorIDa Senator Marco Rubio are in a close race for second.

Trump won a majority of the delegates in the SC primary – at least 38 of the 50 – and has a chance to win them all.

In South Carolina, Donald Trump gained 32.5% of the vote in Saturday’s primary.

“Today I am suspending my campaign”, an emotional Mr Bush told his supporters.

Rubio’s campaign touted a potential win in SC several weeks ago, but Saturday they insisted that they are pleased with their finish.

As the candidates prepare for a contest that is quickly turning from individual battles into a nationwide race, Ben Carson and Ohio Gov. John Kasich could begin to appear as afterthoughts as both polled in the single digits Saturday.

So two-thirds of all Republicans voted for a candidate other than Trump.

Harkening back to the Reagan Revolution, Rubio said, “Ronald Reagan made us believe that is was morning in America again, and it was”. Almost 4 in 10 of those voters backed Trump, while a third who oppose such a ban preferred Rubio. Marco Rubio. Rubio gave his best wishes to Bush.

“We will never, ever forget SC”.

Speaking at his victory rally, he said: “There’s nothing easy about running for president”.

Trump won Iowa with 28%, New Hampshire with 35%, and SC with 34%.

Whoever is the next POTUS, Donald Trump has certainly shaken up the Republican Party, and the establishment is going to have to adapt to Trump’s new world order.

(AP Photo/John Locher). Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, left, greets supporters with her husband and former President Bill Clinton at a Nevada Democratic caucus rally, Saturday, Feb. 20, 2016, in Las Vegas.

Now, the Trump victory foreshadows a solid performance in the collection of Southern states that vote on March 1.

“Jeb’s a class act, and he’s doing the right thing”, said Ave Maria University President Jim Towey, a Bush friend who traveled with him in the days leading up to the New Hampshire primary earlier this month.

After routing Mrs Clinton in New Hampshire and finishing a strong second in Iowa, states with almost all-white populations, Mr Sanders had hoped to prove in Nevada that he could win over black and Hispanic voters and compete nationally as the race moves to states with more diverse populations.