Jeb Bush drops out of the Republican race for president

Ohio Gov. John Kasich had an impressive second place finish in New Hampshire last week and didn’t necessarily need a big win today in SC, though he essentially tied with Bush, taking 7.6 percent of the vote.

In all, there are only five candidates left in a Republican field that once had 17 candidates: Trump, Kasich, Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, and Marco Rubio.

With 12% of precincts reporting, Trump leads with 33% of the vote.

Donald Trump won the SC primary for the Republican presidential nomination Saturday, continuing to defy political convention and strengthening his grip as frontrunner by posting his second straight primary victory. But Jeb’s decision to drop out after a dismal SC finish shows that the Bush brand isn’t what it once was.

The “establishment lane” question may now be all but out of the way, but it’s replaced with an even trickier one: who emerges from the “anti-Trump lane” at this point? Trump also must learn to govern his mouth – no more potty language, easily misunderstood quips or George W. Bush-lied comments. “You, the good people of SC, and incredible volunteers all over the country continue to defy the pundits and produce extraordinary results”.

With this win in the Silver State, Clinton is expected to pick up at least 18 of the 35 delegates at stake in Nevada, states the AP story. Donald Trump retains an edge until that happens. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush suspended his campaign Saturday night.

A teary-eyed Bush says he’s proud of the campaign he ran to unify the country and advocate conservative solutions. His victory was another sign that the conventional rules of politics often don’t apply to the brash billionaire.

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.

Trump added to the drama, spending the week threatening to sue Cruz, accusing former President George W. Bush of lying and sparring with Pope Francis over immigration.

It’s been a night mostly lacking of cheers or applause at the Ted Cruz South Carolina victory party.

“To me, SC will always be a place of new beginnings and fresh starts”, Rubio said.

Supporters of U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump celebrate the close of the polls as they watch election results at a rally in Spartanburg, South Carolina February 20, 2016.

His father and brother both won the SC primary when they were seeking the presidency, and he had set his hopes high there for a campaign revival.

Once each state has voted in the primaries or caucuses, the delegates won by each party candidate will go on to endorse them at party conventions in July.