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South Carolina primary: Trump gives victory speech as Jeb drops out – live
South Carolina primary: Trump wins big while Jeb Bush drops out – live
(35 minutes later)
1.59am GMT
2.30am GMT
01:59
02:30
Donald Trump is confident about his odds in heavily Latino Nevada:
Sabrina Siddiqui
“We’re going to Nevada - I lead with the Hispanics!” Trump says. “I’m leading with every poll with the Hispanics. They love me, I love them.”
From Jeb Bush’s watch party/wake in South Carolina:
1.57am GMT
Shell Suber, 49, told the Guardian that his feelings were “hard to put into words”.
01:57
“You work really hard to convince people he’s the best candidate,” he said. “But you have to get enough people to understand and believe it.”
“I also want to congratulate the other candidates - in particular, Ted and Marco did a pretty good job, I understand,” Trump says. “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.”
Suber, from Columbia, described this as “an odd year” for Republican politics. “There’s so many candidates. And then there’s a celebrity candidate who has made it so difficult for the rest of us to get our message out and make our case.”
“When you win, it’s beautiful.”
Suber said he did not see what else Bush could have done.
1.56am GMT
“A lot of people will say he should have attacked Trump sooner but none of those people thought he would be a serious candidates back in June or July.”
01:56
Related: Jeb Bush ends bid for president after Donald Trump wins in South Carolina
Thank you, South Carolina! This is an amazing, amazing night. The momentum since the beginning of this campaign has been unbelievable, and that’s because my father’s message resonates so deeply with so many people.
Updated
– Ivanka Trump, about her father.
at 2.31am GMT
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02:26
Ted Cruz takes the stage in Columbia, South Carolina
Scott Bixby
Scott Bixby
“Ivanka, you know, we have a hospital ready just in case,” he says of his heavily pregnant daughter, adding that a South Carolina birth for his grandchild would be fine with him.
Still locked in a close battle for second place in the South Carolina Republican primary with bitter rival Marco Rubio, Texas senator Ted Cruz has taken to the stage at the South Carolina State Fairgrounds in Columbia, the capital of and largest city in the Palmetto State.
“It could even be before I finish my speech!” he adds.
Moments after South Carolina victor Donald Trump declared that he was going to “put this thing away,” Cruz made it clear to his supporters that the campaign for the Republican nomination is far from over.
1.53am GMT
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Donald Trump, newly minted South Carolina victory, calls the state “special, special,” before thanking his volunteers.
“For me, the state of South Carolina will always be the place of new beginnings and fresh starts,” Marco Rubio says. “I know that God’s hand is on everything, and so whatever God’s will is in this election is ultimately what will happen to us and to our country.”
“The SEC is gonna be very, very exciting - we expect to do very, very well,” Trump says.
“But if it is God’s will that I serve as our 45th president, if it is God’s will that we win this election, then history will say that on this night in South Carolina that we took the first steps in the beginning of a new American century!”
1.52am GMT
And with that, Marco Rubio finishes the most victorious third-place speech in American history.
01:52
2.23am GMT
Donald Trump takes the stage after winning South Carolina primary
02:23
“Tonight, for those watching at home, i ask you to join us in this effort. This has been a long road,” Marco Rubio says. “I know that our campaign gives us the best chance not just to come together, not just to unify our party, but to unify our country.”
2.21am GMT
02:21
If tonight you are that single mother who has made it the purpose of your life to give your children a better life than yourself, we conservatives will fight for you!
– Marco Rubio.
2.19am GMT
02:19
Scott Bixby
Scott Bixby
Billionaire Donald Trump, newly minted victor of the first-in-the-South primary in South Carolina, has taken the stage at his watch party (now victory rally) in Spartanburg to chants of “U-S-A! U-S-A!”
Marco Rubio frames his potential third-place finish in South Carolina as bringing him to inherit the position of conservative icon Ronald Reagan, who was elected president after the “failed” presidency of Jimmy Carter.
1.47am GMT
“And then we elected a president who inspired us - a president who asked us to remember who we were and believed as we do that America’s greatest days are still ahead,” Rubio says.
01:47
“Ronald Reagan made us believe that it was morning in America again, and it was,” Rubio continues. “Now, the children of Reagan are ready to assume the mantle of leadership. Those of us who grew up when it was morning in America and Ronald Reagan was in the White House are ready to do for the next generation what Ronald Reagan did for ours!”
Tonight I’m gonna sleep with the best friend that I have, the love of my life.
2.16am GMT
– Jeb Bush, about his wife Columba.
02:16
1.46am GMT
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Bush thanks his mother, former first lady Barbara Bush; his older brother, former president George W Bush; and his father, former president George HW Bush, who he describes as “the greatest man I have ever met”.
He’s got a son, but the dynasty, well...
Jeb!Jeb?Jeb :(
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at 1.51am GMT
1.45am GMT
01:45
“I am so grateful to senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina for his steadfast support,” Bush says. “And his amazing humor. He sole the line that I’m now saying, which is that he’s become a friend for life.”
Updated
at 1.45am GMT
1.44am GMT
01:44
I congratulate my competitors who are remaining on the island.
– Jeb Bush, on dropping out of the race.
1.43am GMT
01:43
Jeb Bush drops out of 2016 campaign
Former Florida governor Jeb Bush took to the stage in South Carolina after a disappointing finish in the Palmetto State’s first-in-the-South Republican primary that has left him trailing in a distant fourth place to Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio.
“The people in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina have spoken, and tonight I am suspending my campaign,” said Bush.
1.29am GMT
01:29
Not too many people are watching Ben Carson’s speech...
CNN showing Carson's muted lecture as p-in-p during an ad break lol pic.twitter.com/NO1F4JQL2r
1.28am GMT
01:28
Scott Bixby
Scott Bixby
Retired pediatric neurosurgeon Ben Carson is speaking at his election-night watch party in South Carolina, declaring that “I’m not going anywhere” and that he will not leave the campaign - despite the fact this his Republican opponents have stooped to “dirty” campaign tactics to keep him at the bottom of the race.
“I have an incredible affection and admiration for governor Bush and his family,” Rubio begins.
“They will do anything - and I mean anything - to maintain their power and to maintain their position,” Carson said.
“Jeb Bush has many things to be proud of: he’s an extraordinary father, he’s an extraordinary husband,” Rubio continues. “He’s the greatest governor in the history of Florida, and I believe and I pray that his service to our country has not ended.”
Updated
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1.26am GMT
Marco Rubio takes the stage at watch party in Columbia, South Carolina
01:26
Matt Sullivan
CNN reports that Marco Rubio has won Greenville, home of Bob Jones University, known as the “evangelical Harvard.” It was supposed to be a secure spot for Ted Cruz, who had emphasized his social conservative bona fides in the closing weeks of the South Carolina primary campaign.
In Greenville earlier today, the Guardian’s Matt Sullivan spoke with Lydia Danley, 28, who works at Bob Jones University and voted for Rubio.
Of the issues that matter to her, family was the main motivation behind her support for Rubio. “ Rubio’s strong message on the family definitely resonated with me,” Danley said. “As long as it’s anybody but Trump - I was already gonna vote, but Trump made it a must.”
1.19am GMT
01:19
Kasich for America chief strategist John Weaver issued the following statement tonight after the polls closed in South Carolina, with the Ohio governor currently in fifth place with 8% of the vote in the Palmetto State, with 25.5% of precincts reporting:
Tonight it became a four-person race for the nomination. Only four candidates have top-three finishes in any of the early states and can justify staying in. At the same time, John Kasich has now won the so-called ‘Governors Bracket’ by continuing to run strong and beat expectations. While others were making their last stand in South Carolina, John Kasich strengthened his organization and support - despite being outspent by tens of millions of dollars. He also focused on the key states ahead for us, like Michigan, where he is currently second, Massachusetts and Vermont. Next week the governor campaigns in Virginia - where he is third, Georgia, and other states where he is rising. As the race narrows to four candidates and enters the next phase, it also turns toward states that favor the governor and make his path to the nomination increasingly clear.
1.14am GMT
01:14
Scott Bixby
Scott Bixby
Presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton took to the stage in Las Vegas after her win against rival Bernie Sanders in the state’s Democratic caucuses earlier this evening.
Although the race for second place in the South Carolina Republican primary is still too close to call, Florida senator Marco Rubio has taken the stage triumphantly in Columbia, South Carolina, after campaign spokespeople told reporters that the campaign would consider a third-place finish in the Palmetto State a victory.
Clinton’s victory was announced after just less than 65% of the precincts had reported results. Clinton told the gathered audience that her success is due to her supporters “who never wavered”, and said her campaign was about breaking down barriers.
Rubio is within tenths of a point of bitter rival Ted Cruz.
Updated
2.08am GMT
at 1.16am GMT
02:08
1.13am GMT
Ben Jacobs
01:13
Jeb Bush’s decision to drop out also represents an existential challenge to Donald Trump.
Adam Gabbatt
The real estate mogul has made Bush his whipping boy throughout the campaign. Trump seemingly attacks Bush at every campaign event. He has labeled the former Florida governor as “low energy” and repeatedly attacked Bush’s family, his character and ethics. The question is how Trump will fare without his favorite foil.
Everyone seems to be having a pretty good time at Jeb Bush’s party. But that might have something to do with the fact there is no television in here. There’s no way to follow the results at all.
2.07am GMT
I just spoke to one supporter who was brutally honest. Mark Sterling, 21, was wearing a Jeb! sticker and holding a sign. He likes Bush because of his strong stance on gun control, he said.
02:07
“I’m a hunter. That’s something I enjoy.”
Sterling studies at the University of South Carolina but is registered to vote in his home state of Maryland. He doesn’t fancy Bush’s chances of making it that far.
“Realistically I’ll vote for Trump by the time we get to Maryland.”
Additional note: Sterling, here on the right, is wearing an outfit identical to 90% of Republican males under 30. He said he did not deliberately coordinate with his friend.
1.08am GMT
01:08
Scott Bixby
Scott Bixby
Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders made a speech to his supporters in Las Vegas just a few moments ago following his loss in the state to rival Hillary Clinton.
“Whether we got to Dallas, or whether we go anywhere you say,” Trump says, “our people are incredible.”
Sanders told the crowd that the key issue of his campaign has been momentum – “bringing more and more people into the political process” – but he also targeted the “corrupt campaign finance system which is undermining American democracy.”
“And what’s our theme?” he asks the crowd rhetorically.
“Our theme - which I love! - may be the greatest theme of all time,” Trump says. “Make America great again!”
“South Carolina, we will never forget you! We will never forget you! We will never ever forget you! We will never forget all the people who helped us so much!”
“Let’s put this thing away!” Trump shouts, and exits the stage.
2.04am GMT
02:04
“We’re now off to Nevada - it’s a great state, and we’ve got great people,” Donald Trump says, preparing for the Nevada caucuses in just a few days. “The only thing that stops the crowds are the walls!”
