Takeaways From South Carolina And Nevada

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump gives a thumbs up during a South Carolina Republican primary night event in Spartanburg, S.C., Saturday, Feb. 20, 2016.

Florida Senator Marco Rubio closed his campaign in SC by stating the GOP race is now a three-way contest.

A teary-eyed Mr. Bush says he’s proud of the campaign he ran to unify the country and advocate conservative solutions.

Going into the primary, Trump had the support of 28 percent of likely voters, while Cruz had 23 percent in The Wall Street Journal/NBC News/Marist poll of likely Republican primary voters.

Cruz also pointed out that his campaign is the only one that has beaten Trump in a primary contest.

Her win denied Mr Sanders the breakthrough win he sought in a state with a heavy minority population but his ability to close a one-time double-digit polling lead for Mrs Clinton suggested the Democratic nominating race could be long and hard fought.

Bush’s exit is huge for Marco Rubio and John Kasich.

It was Mr Trump’s second victory in a row, after New Hampshire on February 9, an outcome that frightens establishment Republicans but thrills the “throw-the-bums-out” conservative base of the party that has always been fed up with Washington. Bush has deep family ties in the state and campaigned alongside his mother, the former first lady, and his brother, former President George W. Bush.

But Jeb, who had been polling low at the national level, saw a glimmer of hope in the New Hampshire primary where he came fourth and his votes crossed the double digit mark with 11 per cent. However, that hope faded with today’s defeat. “We’re going to stay focused on the substance because I think that’s what the voters want, I think that’s what they deserve”, he said.

“Over Trump? Yes, yes I can”, Jeanie Farmer, Jeb Bush volunteer, responded definitively.

Meanwhile, in Nevada, Hillary Clinton had a convincing over Bernie Sanders in the Democratic caucuses, by 52.6% to 47.4%.

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

The results in SC have led to Jeb Bush confirming he is withdrawing from the race to be the next Republican president.

In between now and then, there is a caucus in Nevada and a number of southern states up for grabs on March 1.

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley’s decision to endorse Rubio, even after Bush had developed a relationship and courted her heavily, was a psychic blow.

In Nevada, Mrs Clinton won the backing of voters who said electability and experience were important in their vote. Ted Cruz remain locked in a tight battle for second place for most of the night.

After a “difficult election” in the New Hampshire Primary, Rubio said he arrived in SC “in search of a new beginning and a fresh start”.