appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

liveArticle

appConfig

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sectionsV2

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

json

Associated Press

Donald Trump claimed a big victory in South Carolina’s Republican primary, deepening his hold on the party’s presidential field as the contest moved into the South. Out West, Hillary Clinton pulled out a crucial win in Nevada’s Democratic caucuses.
Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, who has done poorly in the first three early Republican contests, suspended his campaign.
Watch: Trump and Clinton win crucial state contents as Jeb Bush drops out

The victories put Clinton and Trump in strong positions as the 2016 presidential election barreled toward the March 1 Super Tuesday contests, a delegate-rich voting bonanza.
“There’s nothing easy about running for president,” Trump said at his victory rally. “It’s tough, it’s nasty, it’s mean, it’s vicious. It’s beautiful — when you win it’s beautiful.”
Clinton’s roughly 5-point win eased the rising anxieties of her backers, who feared a growing challenge from Bernie Sanders. At a raucous victory rally in Las Vegas, she lavished praise on her supporters and declared, “This one is for you.”

Trump’s strong showing in South Carolina marked his second straight victory in the Republican primaries and strengthened his unexpected claim on the party nomination. No Republican in recent times has won New Hampshire and South Carolina and then failed to win the nomination.
Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, a pair of freshman senators, were locked in a race for second place in South Carolina. Bush and other candidates lagged far behind.
“This country is ready for a new generation of conservative to lead this country into the 21st century,” Rubio said of his strong finish, calling himself among the political children of former President Ronald Reagan.
Speaking after Rubio, Cruz said “South Carolina has given us another remarkable result,” despite what he said was the whole political establishment aligning against him. Cruz eked out a victory in the Iowa caucus with a slim victory over Trump, but was overwhelmed by Trump in the New Hampshire primary.

For both parties, the 2016 election has laid bare voters’ frustration with Washington and the influence of big money in the political system. The public mood has upended the usual political order. That gave Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who put up a stiff challenge to Clinton in Nevada, and Trump openings over many more mainstream candidates.
In Nevada, Clinton won the backing of voters who said electability and experience were important in their vote. But in a continuing sign of her vulnerability, Sanders did best with voters looking for a candidate who is caring and honest.
She capitalised on a more diverse Democratic electorate who helped her rebound after a second-place finish to Sanders in the New Hampshire primary.
“Some may have doubted us, but we never doubted each other,” Clinton told her cheering supporters during a victory rally in Las Vegas. “This one is for you.”
She said Americans are “right to be angry,” but are also hungry for “real solutions.”

Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, congratulated Clinton on her victory, but then declared his campaign has “the wind at our backs as we head toward Super Tuesday” — the multi-state voting contests on March 1.
Clinton’s victory could be vital in pushing back the Sanders challenge that has been tougher than almost anyone expected. Clinton narrowly won the leadoff caucuses in the Midwestern state of Iowa, but the Vermont senator had a runaway victory in the tiny northeastern state of New Hampshire.
Clinton now leads in delegates pledged to her at the Democratic Party’s national convention in July, but only has a fraction of the number needed to secure the nomination. Clinton’s win means she will pick up at least 18 of Nevada’s 35 delegates. Trump also is accumulating a delegate lead among Republicans.
No candidate has shaken the establishment more than Trump. He spent the week threatening one rival with a lawsuit, accusing former President George W. Bush of lying and even tangling with Pope Francis on immigration.
The Trump win drove Bush, once the front-runner, who was counting on his family’s broad popularity in South Carolina, out of the race. Bush is the son and brother of former presidents.
Now, the Trump victory foreshadows a solid performance in the collection of Southern states that vote on March 1. Victories in those Super Tuesday contests could put the billionaire in a commanding position in the delegate count, which determines the nomination at the party’s national convention in July.
Trump has run a campaign punctuated by outrageous statements, including a call to ban the entry of Muslims to the United States. At his last election rally Friday night he upped the ante in his remarks about them, repeating the widely discredited story of American Gen. John Pershing, who was said to have halted Muslim attacks in the Philippines in the early 1900s by shooting the rebels with bullets dipped in pigs’ blood.
Cruz, who has challenged Trump’s conservative credentials, had banked on a well-regarded get-out-the-vote operation and 10,000 volunteers to help overtake Trump on Saturday, as well as in the Southern states that follow.
Rubio is viewed by the Republican party establishment as a credible alternative to Trump and Cruz, candidates some leaders believe are unelectable in November.
Rubio had scored the endorsements of several prominent South Carolina politicians, including Governor Nikki Haley, and seemed to have rebounded after a dismal debate performance two weeks ago that contributed to a disappointing fifth-place finish in the New Hampshire primary.
Rubio’s good showing is a big boost, for a young candidate who has gathered big support from mainstream Republicans.
Also in the mix was Ohio Governor John Kasich, who had low expectations in South Carolina. He was looking toward more moderate states that vote later in March. Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson had a small but loyal cadre of followers.


Donald Trump and lawyer fined nearly US$1 million for ‘frivolous’ Hillary Clinton lawsuit

Hillary Clinton approved leaking Trump-Russia link to media, court hears

France’s Emmanuel Macron warns of ‘Trump hangover’ as he faces Marine Le Pen in presidential election

Donald Trump sues Hillary Clinton over Russian collusion allegations

US election: Trump v Clinton

Trump and Clinton win crucial state contests as Bush crashes out of White House race

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump celebrates with supporters along with his wife Melania and daughter Ivanka after his victory in the South Carolina Republican primary. Photo: EPA

epaselect epa05173042 US Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton (R) with husband former US President Bill Clinton (L) celebrates her win in the Nevada caucus at Caesar's Palace Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, 20 February 2016. Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton defeated Vermont senator Bernie Sanders in the Democratic caucus held in Nevada. With 75 per cent of the ballots counted, Clinton took 52.2 per cent of the vote versus 47.7 per cent for Vermont senator Bernie Sanders. EPA/MIKE NELSON

epa05173140 Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz speaks to supporters after losing to Donald Trump in the South Carolina primary in Columbia, South Carolina, USA, 20 February 2016. Cruz and Marco Rubio are in a dead heat for second place. EPA/JIM LO SCALZO

Republican U.S. presidential candidate Jeb Bush announces that he is suspending his presidential campaign as his wife Columba (R) looks on, at a primary election night party in Columbia, South Carolina, February 20, 2016. REUTERS/Randall Hill

News

World