US election 2016: Trump 'wins' South Carolina, as Clinton takes Nevada
- 21 February 2016
- From the section US Election 2016
New York billionaire Donald Trump has won the South Carolina primary in the Republican race for president, US media project, just hours after Hillary Clinton swept to victory in Nevada.
Senators Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio are currently locked in a battle for second place in the state.
Mrs Clinton beat fellow Democratic rival Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders in a tight race, with 52% of the vote.
Both results will be key ahead of the "Super Tuesday" round on 1 March.
On that day, about a dozen states will choose their Republican and Democratic contenders for the 8 November presidential election, with about a quarter of all nominating delegates up for grabs.
The leading Republican pair, Ted Cruz and Donald Trump, split the first two rounds - Mr Trump winning in New Hampshire, a week after Mr Cruz had triumphed in Iowa.
These rounds could be crucial in particular for Republican candidates Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, John Kasich and Ben Carson, who have been lagging behind the leading pair.
Hillary Clinton, who won Iowa but was beaten convincingly in New Hampshire by Mr Sanders, declared victory over Bernie Sanders in Nevada in a tweet, thanking people who voted for her, saying "this is your win".
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"Some may have doubted us, but we never doubted each other," Mrs Clinton told supporters at a victory rally in Las Vegas. "This is your campaign."
The presidential race between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders has grown increasingly close in recent weeks, with the former secretary of state expected to win Nevada in double digits just weeks ago.
But the Vermont senator, who has successfully galvanised young voters with his calls for free university education, appears to have performed better than expected with the heavy minority population in Nevada.
According to NBC exit polls, Mr Sanders won among Hispanics with 53% of the vote but lost among black voters earning just 22% of their vote.
"Five weeks ago we were 25 points behind and we ended up in a very close election. And we probably will leave Nevada with a solid share of the delegates," Bernie Sanders said in a statement on his rival's victory.
The state represents the most racially diverse battleground so far, with both candidates courting the vote of African Americans, Hispanics and Asian Americans, who make up about 50% of the state's population.
Mr Bush, once considered a frontrunner, scoffed at the possibility of New York billionaire Donald Trump winning the Republican nomination on Saturday.
"Trump can't win, plain and simple,'' he told reporters, adding: "He can't be president. A ton of people would be very uncomfortable with his divisive language and with his inexperience in so many ways."
Mr Trump has continued his colourful campaign this week with a public spat with Pope Francis on Christian values.
Mrs Clinton's next test will be in the Democrats' South Carolina primary on 27 February. Republicans will hold their own caucuses in Nevada on Tuesday.
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.