Trump wins South Carolina as he posts second primary win

Today could be the day everyone starts using the F-word to describe Donald Trump.

Donald Trump has won the South Carolina Republican primary, a second-straight victory for the billionaire real estate mogul after his first-place finish in New Hampshire.

There’s a lot of attention on Jeb Bush as South Carolina Republican vote in their presidential primary.

By the same token, Trump’s decisive victory in SC, where he captured at least 32% of eligible primary voters, spells out a political future in which the influence of Bush or his family retains little, if any, place or goal. Earlier on Saturday, Carson tweeted one final plea for SC voters saying, “I humbly ask the people of SC to give me their vote”. Ted Cruz, the Texas senator, is likely to prove a strong competitor to Trump in the South. The conservative stalwart boasts strong support among evangelical voters, of which there are many in southern states.

Five of the GOP presidential candidates will watch the numbers come in with supporters in the Palmetto State while John Kasich has moved on to campaign in other states.

She staved off what could have been a ground-shifting loss to Bernie Sanders, the socialist senator who has put up a surprisingly strong challenge and threatens to eclipse her.

She retains a big lead with African-American voters and is expected to win next week in SC and other southeastern states on March 1.

“He holds up the Bible, and then he cheats”, Trump said.

“I don’t like politicians”, said Jim Jaruszewicz, a 37-year-old radiology technician who voted for Trump.

The Ohio governor hasn’t ignored SC, but he has focused resources on states in the Midwest and Northeast that host contests in March.

It was 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. Trump led the angry voters, while those who were just dissatisfied split between the top three candidates.

One of Trump’s favorite targets, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, finally threw in the towel, suspending his campaign after a dismal finish.

However, 53% of South Carolina Republicans say immigrants working in the US illegally should be allowed to apply for legal status, compared to 44% who say they should be deported to their home countries.

Trump leads the overall race for delegates with 55. Last-minute visits to the state by his popular brother and mother weren’t enough to lift his campaign after poor showings in Iowa and New Hampshire.

At stake in SC are 50 of the 1,237 delegates needed to win the Republican nomination. “It’s lovely”, Trump declared to his supporters at his victory rally in Spartanburg, S.C.

Prognostications are hard in Nevada, which holds a late-morning caucus.

The polling of voters in Nevada and SC was conducted for The Associated Press and the television networks by Edison Research as voters arrived at 25 randomly selected caucus sites.

Bush is in position to finish third in SC, according to the latest NBC/Wall Street Journal/Marist poll.