US elections: Trump sweeps South Carolina Republican primary, Hillary Clinton wins Nevada
Former Florida governor Jeb Bush dropped out of the Republican presidential race after coming fourth.
Donald Trump swept the South Carolina Republican primary on Saturday, while Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton won the Nevada caucuses, Associated Press reported. Freshman Republican senators Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio were in a race to win second place, while former Florida governor Jeb Bush announced his decision to drop out of the presidential race after his disappointing fourth place result in South Carolina. “The people in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina have spoken, and tonight I am suspending my campaign,” he said.
This is Trump’s second consecutive win in the Republican primaries – he won the New Hampshire primary – which strengthens his status as the frontrunner among the Republicans. He said, “When you win, it’s beautiful...I also want to congratulate the other candidates...There’s nothing easy about running for president, I can tell you. It’s tough, it’s mean, it’s nasty, it’s vicious...It’s beautiful.”Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton was all praises for her supporters after her 5-point win over Bernie Sanders in Nevada. Her victory came as a relief for her backers after her huge loss to Sanders in New Hampshire. “Some may have doubted us, but we never doubted each other,” Clinton said.
Clinton and Trump are both in strong positions to be the 2016 election presidential candidates. Public anger over the current political establishment is evident in the ongoing race, which has left more traditional candidates struggling to find their footing but seemingly welcomed the likes of Trump and Sanders. Democrats and Republicans will swap locations next week, with the GOP caucus to be held in Nevada on Tuesday and the Democratic face-off to be held in South Carolina on February 27.