Donald Trump was declared the winner in South Carolina Republican Primary just about 45 minutes after the polls closed at 7pm ET. The battle continues for the 2nd place spot with a tight race between Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz. The results will be coming in for several more hours, follow them live at DecisionDeskHQ.
Report from USAToday:
Donald Trump claimed the South Carolina primary on Saturday, news networks projected, taking another major step toward the Republican presidential nomination as Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio battled it out for second place in the Palmetto State.
Early returns projected a closer-than-expected victory for the New York businessman, but a victory nonetheless.
Republican rivals Jeb Bush, John Kasich, and Ben Carson were well behind in early returns in South Carolina, raising questions about the long-term prospects of their campaigns.
Trump who led pre-election polls, sounded a cautious but optimistic note shortly after the polls closed at 7 p.m. ET, tweeting that “people (pundits) gave me no chance in South Carolina. Now it looks like a possible win. I would be happy with a one vote victory! (HOPE).”
Here is Donald Trump’s full victory speech from South Carolina:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZHUxyQNTGI
The next contest, on Tuesday, February 23, is in Nevada where Trump holds a decent lead according to the latest polls.
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