Last Saturday saw a magnificent Southern brawl by the GOP candidates in the South Carolina debate. One week later, the people have spoken. Less than an hour after polls closed, CNN called the primary as a Donald Trump victory. This projection follows a Ted Cruz win in Iowa with Trump subsequently taking New Hampshire. This time around, it’s a clear victory for the man widely known as a real-estate mogul and reality star.
To Trump’s credit (perhaps), he’s been working hard in South Carolina for many months. Last fall, he spent some time in the state, but unfortunately, he used the opportunity to do an “impression” of a disabled reporter. During a rally, he also namechecked his Muslim “friends” to support his call for a ban on Muslims entering the United States. Trump’s considerably toned things down (or maybe we’ve simply gotten used to him), and he managed to not look like the most unhinged GOP candidate at last week’s debate.
On Saturday evening, CNN was quick to project a winner after only 6% of the precincts reported results, and they handed the South Carolina primary to Trump with 32.5% percent of the vote. Meanwhile, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio are still duking it out for second place. Who will take the runner-up honors? After 83% of precincts reported results, Rubio took second place with 22.3% and Cruz followed with 21.7%. This runner-up position could change in the cold Sunday daylight, but Trump’s victory is a clear one. During his victory speech, he promised, “We’re gonna do the wall!”
Meanwhile, Jeb Bush has suspended his presidential campaign — ending a “promising and well-funded campaign” — after a string of disappointing primary finishes. CNN implies that Jeb couldn’t stand up to Trump’s constant mockery, but we saw how Jeb came back from the dead more than once to defend himself and his family from Trump. Perhaps Jeb’s withdrawal is as simple as a failed campaign, and it seems the Bush political dynasty couldn’t last forever.