Businessman Donald Trump has secured a convincing victory in the Republican primary in South Carolina, while former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton defeated rival Bernie Sanders in the Democratic caucuses in Nevada.
With nearly all of the results in for the Republican primary in South Carolina, Trump led with 32.5 percent of the vote, a 10 point advantage over Senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, who are both in a dead heat for second place at just over 22 percent.
Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush failed to gain momentum and ended with just 7.9 percent of the vote, prompting him to end his presidential campaign. “The people of Iowa, and New Hampshire, and South Carolina, have spoken, and I really respect their decision, so tonight I am suspending my campaign,” he told supporters.
Ohio Governor John Kasich ended fifth with 7.6 percent, followed by neurosurgeon Ben Carson at 7.2 percent. Both are expected to continue their campaigns, for now.
On the Democratic side, Clinton won the state of Nevada by a larger than expected margin, taking about 52.6 percent of the vote. Sanders had been surging quickly in polls in Nevada in recent weeks, but the gains were insufficient for a win, though he too will receive a share of the delegates.
In an email, Clinton thanked her supporters and said she would soon leave for Texas “to officially kick off our next big push”. “Americans are right to be angry,” she said, referring to racism, sexism, and discrimination against LGBT people. “These injustices demand action from all of us,” she added.
Sanders later called Clinton to congratulate her on winning Nevada, and said he looked forward to upcoming primaries and caucuses. “I am very proud of the campaign we ran,” he said in a statement. “Five weeks ago we were 25 points behind and we ended up in a very close election. And we probably will leave Nevada with a solid share of the delegates.”
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