Donald Trump wins South Carolina, Hillary Clinton takes Nevada

Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump grabbed a big win in the South Carolina primary on Saturday, while Democrat Hillary Clinton breathed life into her sluggish campaign with a victory over Bernie Sanders in Nevada.

The wins for the brash billionaire and the former US secretary of state give them a major boost heading into the crucial next phase of the White House race — Super Tuesday on March 1, when about a dozen states go to the polls. In South Carolina, the 69-year-old Mr Trump captured about a third of the votes, with all of the precincts reporting.

His supporters erupted in a roar when CNN called the contest in his favour — his second win of the nominations race after New Hampshire and an important test of the strength of his bid to succeed President Barack Obama. “There is nothing easy about running for President, I can tell you,” Mr Trump told his victory party in Spartanburg. “It’s tough, it’s nasty. It’s mean. It’s vicious. It’s beautiful.” “When you win, it’s beautiful.”

After several nail-biting hours, final results showed Florida Senator Marco Rubio in second place in the Republican contest with 22.5 per cent of the vote, narrowly ahead of Texas Senator Ted Cruz, who had 22.3 per cent. “After tonight, this has become a three-person race and we will win the nomination,” said Mr Rubio, like Mr Cruz a Cuban-American first-time Senator.

In Nevada, Ms Clinton claimed a major win in the Democratic race. Final results gave her 52.7 per cent of the vote against 47.2 per cent for Mr Sanders. “This is your campaign, and it is a campaign to break down every barrier that holds you back,” Ms Clinton said in her victory speech.

In South Carolina, Mr Trump — a onetime reality TV star who has upended the political landscape with his tough talk on everything — showed he could compete for the long haul. “We just think we want to take a risk with Trump. We think he’s had success with everything he’s touched,” Lynn Derrick, a first-time primary voter said.

Mr Trump and Mr Cruz, who won the Iowa caucuses, ducked it out in the week leading up to Saturday’s primary, with the campaign growing increasingly nasty. Mr Trump even had a spat with Pope Francis, who suggested the tycoon was “not a Christian” for wanting to build a wall on the border with Mexico. Mr Trump also called for a boycott of Apple over its refusal to unlock the phone of a suspect in the San Bernardino attacks.

Saturday’s results were bad news for Jeb Bush, Ohio governor John Kasich and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, who were relegated to the second tier of candidates.

In the desert state of Nevada, the 68-year-old Ms Clinton scored a major win, but Mr Sanders proved he was in it for the long haul. “Some may have doubted us, but we never doubted each other,” Ms Clinton said in a fiery left-leaning speech clearly aimed at the minority voters who make up roughly half of the state’s population and who are key in the US South.

Ms Clinton claims that Mr Sanders is offering impractical, fantasy ideas that he cannot deliver as President, and on Saturday took aim at corporate America — usually a message sounded by Mr Sanders. “If you cheat your employees, exploit consumers, pollute our environment, or rip off taxpayers, we’re going to hold you accountable,” Ms Clinton said. “But if you do the right things, if you invest in your workers, contribute to your communities, help build a better America — we’re going to stand with you.”

Ms Clinton, who won by a hair in Iowa but was crushed by Mr Sanders in New Hampshire, had counted on a major Hispanic voter turnout, especially among Las Vegas hotel and casino employees. CNN entrance polls showed that she handily won the black vote, but the Latino vote was more evenly split — evidence that the Sanders campaign may have more stamina than first expected.

Ms Clinton did well with women, but was again stomped by Mr Sanders with young voters, the polls showed. Mr Sanders congratulated Ms Clinton, and said he was proud of having significantly narrowed the gap. “We have the wind at our back as we head toward Super Tuesday,” the 74-year-old Mr Sanders said, looking ahead to the showdown, when about a fifth of the Democratic nominating delegates are in play.