Pooka
01-20-08, 03:39 AM
John McCain has won a tight battle for the Republican primary election in the key US state of South Carolina.
Speaking at a victory rally, he thanked South Carolina's voters for "bringing us across the finish line first".
Mike Huckabee, who trailed Mr McCain by 3% with 96% of the vote counted, said he was glad the fight had been "civil".
Hillary Clinton has won the Democratic presidential caucus in the US state of Nevada, leading Barack Obama 51% to 45%, with almost all the vote counted.
She told cheering supporters: "I guess this is how the West was won."
Mitt Romney won Nevada's Republican contest, taking 52% of the vote with 99% of the returns counted. Ron Paul came second with 14% and John McCain third with 13%.
The caucus was largely overshadowed by South Carolina's primary, where most of the candidates focused their efforts.
The result has been keenly anticipated because the Republican winner in South Carolina has gone on to become the party's nominee in every presidential election since 1980.
'Feeling good'
Addressing cheering supporters, a smiling Mr McCain said: "We have a way to go, my friends, and we have some difficult contests to go - starting tomorrow in the state of Florida, where we are going to win.
"We are well on the way tonight and I feel very good about our challenges."
He promised to continue to uphold the conservative values he had campaigned on and praised South Carolinians for their patriotism.
The Arizona senator also referred to his defeat in the state by George W Bush in 2000, saying ""You know, it's taken us a while - but what's eight years among friends?"
Mr Huckabee, conceding defeat, praised his rival for running a "civil" campaign and told his supporters that "this year in politics is not an event, it's a process - and the process is far from over here".
With 96% of the vote counted, former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson, who has been focusing heavily on South Carolina, was in third place with 16% of the vote, just ahead of Mr Romney.
Observers said Mr Thompson would need a good result in the state to have a chance of remaining a viable contender for the Republican nomination.
Republican Congressman Duncan Hunter, who has made little headway in the race, announced he was dropping out before the votes were counted in South Carolina.
Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani has virtually ignored the early races to concentrate on the bigger prize of Florida at the end of the month.
'Confidence and optimism'
Earlier in Nevada, Mrs Clinton hailed her win as "an extraordinary success for Nevada and the Democratic Party", and lauded turn-out of more than 100,000 voters.
"I want to say that we will all be united in November to beat the Republicans," she said, and vowed to "move with confidence and optimism into the future".
Mrs Clinton's campaign manager Terry McAuliffe told US network MSNBC: "This is a huge win for Hillary. This is big, this is a big day."
However, Mr Obama's campaign said that he had in fact won the battle in terms of the number of delegates which would be allocated to back him at the party conference where the Democratic presidential candidate will be chosen.
The Associated Press reported that Mr Obama had won 13 delegates to Mrs Clinton's 12. No official figures were available.
"We won an honest, uplifting campaign that focused on the real problems Americans are facing," said Mr Obama.
But his campaign manager accused the Clinton campaign of a week of "false, divisive, attacks designed to mislead caucus-goers".
Going into the Nevada vote, Mrs Clinton was backed by influential politicians in the state's Hispanic community, which makes up about 25% of the population, while Mr Obama had the support of a powerful local union organisation.
Mrs Clinton and Mr Obama will take their struggle for the Democratic nomination to South Carolina, where the party's primary takes place on 26 January.
Correspondents say the key issue will be which of the two candidates can attract the support of the state's black community, who make up a third of the population.
The next big contest for the Republicans is Florida on 29 January.
The ballots precede Super Tuesday, when 22 states will hold polls on 5 February.
Source (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7198524.stm)
:rave:
Speaking at a victory rally, he thanked South Carolina's voters for "bringing us across the finish line first".
Mike Huckabee, who trailed Mr McCain by 3% with 96% of the vote counted, said he was glad the fight had been "civil".
Hillary Clinton has won the Democratic presidential caucus in the US state of Nevada, leading Barack Obama 51% to 45%, with almost all the vote counted.
She told cheering supporters: "I guess this is how the West was won."
Mitt Romney won Nevada's Republican contest, taking 52% of the vote with 99% of the returns counted. Ron Paul came second with 14% and John McCain third with 13%.
The caucus was largely overshadowed by South Carolina's primary, where most of the candidates focused their efforts.
The result has been keenly anticipated because the Republican winner in South Carolina has gone on to become the party's nominee in every presidential election since 1980.
'Feeling good'
Addressing cheering supporters, a smiling Mr McCain said: "We have a way to go, my friends, and we have some difficult contests to go - starting tomorrow in the state of Florida, where we are going to win.
"We are well on the way tonight and I feel very good about our challenges."
He promised to continue to uphold the conservative values he had campaigned on and praised South Carolinians for their patriotism.
The Arizona senator also referred to his defeat in the state by George W Bush in 2000, saying ""You know, it's taken us a while - but what's eight years among friends?"
Mr Huckabee, conceding defeat, praised his rival for running a "civil" campaign and told his supporters that "this year in politics is not an event, it's a process - and the process is far from over here".
With 96% of the vote counted, former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson, who has been focusing heavily on South Carolina, was in third place with 16% of the vote, just ahead of Mr Romney.
Observers said Mr Thompson would need a good result in the state to have a chance of remaining a viable contender for the Republican nomination.
Republican Congressman Duncan Hunter, who has made little headway in the race, announced he was dropping out before the votes were counted in South Carolina.
Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani has virtually ignored the early races to concentrate on the bigger prize of Florida at the end of the month.
'Confidence and optimism'
Earlier in Nevada, Mrs Clinton hailed her win as "an extraordinary success for Nevada and the Democratic Party", and lauded turn-out of more than 100,000 voters.
"I want to say that we will all be united in November to beat the Republicans," she said, and vowed to "move with confidence and optimism into the future".
Mrs Clinton's campaign manager Terry McAuliffe told US network MSNBC: "This is a huge win for Hillary. This is big, this is a big day."
However, Mr Obama's campaign said that he had in fact won the battle in terms of the number of delegates which would be allocated to back him at the party conference where the Democratic presidential candidate will be chosen.
The Associated Press reported that Mr Obama had won 13 delegates to Mrs Clinton's 12. No official figures were available.
"We won an honest, uplifting campaign that focused on the real problems Americans are facing," said Mr Obama.
But his campaign manager accused the Clinton campaign of a week of "false, divisive, attacks designed to mislead caucus-goers".
Going into the Nevada vote, Mrs Clinton was backed by influential politicians in the state's Hispanic community, which makes up about 25% of the population, while Mr Obama had the support of a powerful local union organisation.
Mrs Clinton and Mr Obama will take their struggle for the Democratic nomination to South Carolina, where the party's primary takes place on 26 January.
Correspondents say the key issue will be which of the two candidates can attract the support of the state's black community, who make up a third of the population.
The next big contest for the Republicans is Florida on 29 January.
The ballots precede Super Tuesday, when 22 states will hold polls on 5 February.
Source (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7198524.stm)
:rave: