Political Winners & Losers: Jeb’s out, Hillary wins and Kane won’t run

Gaines said she believes either Trump or Rubio would best either Democratic candidate, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton or U.S. 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.

In a distant fourth place was Jeb Bush, the man once considered a shoo in for the Republican nomination.

Bush, who also fared poorly in earlier contests in Iowa and New Hampshire, said the race had been “hard fought” but that voters of those three states had spoken.

It is the second consecutive victory for the Trump campaign, after winning in the state of New Hampshire. Trent Lott, former Republican Senate majority leader under George W. Bush, said to lawmakers that Trump might be the nominee of the Republican party. “I think she had a nice little warm up, but now I think it’s going to be Clinton’s race to run away with”, Binder said.

The candidates will now focus on “Super Tuesday” next month, where more than 10 states will hold a series of primaries.

Trump went on to say he expects to win states – in his words – “Republicans don’t even think of”.

Still, he was lagging far behind in the primary in SC, where his well-organised campaign was outmatched by insurgent billionaire Donald Trump, and Senators Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio.

Clinton’s roughly 5-point win eased the rising anxieties of her backers, who feared a growing challenge from Sanders.

“In this campaign, I have stood my ground, refusing to bend to the political winds”, Bush said Saturday.

In an Sunday CNN interview, Trump promised to win the youth vote if he secures the Republican presidential nomination, dismissing Sanders’ strength among young voters.

Looking back to Iowa, where Cruz spent ample time and money trying to scoop up the evangelical vote, Trump still performed admirably, catching 22% compared to Cruz’s 34%.

His father and brother both won the SC primary when they were seeking the presidency, and he had set his hopes high there for a campaign revival. “It is certainly bigger than any one candidate”, an emotional Bush said.

Trump isn’t in as enviable a position as Clinton.

“If you’re running for president of the United States, you can’t just tell people you’re going to make America great again”, he said, referring to Mr Trump’s campaign slogan. “It’s tough, it’s nasty, it’s mean, it’s vicious”.

Ohio Governor John Kasich speaks at his “South Carolina Primary Election Results Watch Party” in Wakefield, Massachusetts, Feb. 20, 2016. “When you win, it’s lovely”.