Donald Trump won the South Carolina primary Saturday, a day that saw Jeb Bush – the heir to an American political dynasty – drop out of the race.
Bush, who late Saturday was in fourth place in the Palmetto State, announced he was suspending his campaign two hours and 45 minutes after the polls closed.
"I'm proud of the campaign that we've run to unify our country and to advocate conservative solutions," Bush said. "The presidency is bigger than any one person. It's certainly bigger than any one candidate."
Trump took a third of the vote in South Carolina, topping Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Fla. Sen. Marco Rubio who were locked in a battle for second place late Saturday.
Following a week that marked the threat of a lawsuit, an attack on former President George W. Bush and a slam from Pope Francis, Trump told supporters Saturday night, “When you win, it's beautiful.”
Hillary Clinton edged out Sen. Bernie Sanders, (I-Vt.), in the Nevada Democratic caucuses Saturday, a win seen as a much-needed boost to the former secretary of state’s presidential aspirations.
Clinton, who at one point only a month ago was up by 17 percentage points in Nevada, garnered 52.4 percent of those caucusing Saturday. Sanders got 47.5 percent of the vote.
Sanders pulled into a virtual tie with Clinton Friday after a CNN Poll of Polls released Wednesday showed Clinton's support at 48 percent with Sanders at 47 percent.
Sanders gained solid support from Hispanic voters in Nevada, but Clinton held on to African American voters, in addition to older voters and Democrats (as opposed to Independents or Republicans who caucused).
"Thank you, Nevada," Clinton said after the vote. "Some may have doubted us, but we never doubted each other."
Sanders told his supporters he was far from being knocked off his course by the loss.
"I believe on Super Tuesday, we have got an excellent chance to win many of those states," Sanders said. "It is clear to me and most observers that the wind is at our backs.”
Clinton's win means she will pick up at least 19 of Nevada's 35 delegates.
Trump’s 16-point lead in South Carolina in January was cut to a five-point advantage on the eve of the primary, but it seemed to have no effect on his win.
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. After the votes were counted Saturday, Trump had 34 percent.
Of the voters who said they had not made up their mind going into the voting booth on primary day, the majority came out supporting Rubio, according to CNN exit polls.
Trump had the support of 33 percent of the men who voted, the exit poll showed. Rubio had 22 percent support from men.
Cruz took younger voters – 29 percent of voters between 17 and 29 chose the Texas senator. Rubio tied with Cruz for voters age 30-44. Trump won all voters age 45 and older.
Democrats and Republicans will swap locations next week. Democrats head to South Carolina on Feb. 27 and Republicans will be in Nevada on Tuesday.
