The weekend Presidential contests in Nevada and South Carolina have been political slugfests with possible outlines of the real contenders emerging and the shadows of some of the losers beginning to fall to the mat.  Yet, don’t bet on any certainty for now because more contests are on the way with Super Tuesday around the bend. 

The winners this Saturday were Mitt Romney, John McCain, and Hillary Clinton with the rest of the Presidential candidates falling behind the pack or waiting for their turn to shine.

For the Republicans, it was John McCain and Mitt Romney.  Both Republican presidential hopefuls seized much-needed victories in the South Carolina and Nevada contests, respectively.  Hillary Clinton showed more staying power as she beat Barack Obama 51 to 45 in the Democratic Nevada battle.   

Meanwhile, Barack Obama and Clinton appear to be heading for a showdown in South Carolina, where Democrats vote for their presidential nominee on January 26.  The candidates will be fighting heavily for that state’s African American voters.

The victory for McCain was particular sweet in South Carolina.  In the year 2000, he was defeated in the that state’s presidential primary by George W Bush following a campaign in which Senator McCain and his wife were subjected to a litany of vicious personal attacks.

“It took us a while, but what’s eight years among friends?” Senator McCain shouted over his supporters as they chanted, “Mac is back! Mac is back!”

His main rival this time around, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, congratulated Senator McCain and said he had run “a civil and a good and a decent campaign”. Mr Huckabee swiftly and publicly rebuked two veterans groups who supported him and attacked Senator McCain’s actions while a POW during the Vietnam War.

Senator McCain claimed 33 percent of the vote, just ahead of Huckabee’s 29-plus vote in that state’s winner take all vote

After a dismal showing, Congressman Duncan Hunter (Calif.) announced his withdrawal from the race.

Fresh from his New Hampshire win, Senator McCain again drew strong support from independents. He was also bolstered by the support of voters who rate the Iraq war and terrorism their top concerns as well as war veterans, who represented 25 percent of primary voters.

Senator McCain also polled well with voters who consider the economy the top election issue, and those who value experience above all other qualities in a presidential candidate.

More than half the voters described themselves as evangelical Christians, a group that Mr Huckabee, an ordained Baptist minister, had hoped would propel him to victory. However, while 40 percent of Republican evangelical voters supported Mr Huckabee, Senator McCain managed to secure the support of more than a quarter of this key group.

Since 1980, the winner of the South Carolina GOP primary has gone on to be nominated by the party for the presidential race, a record that was not lost on the triumphant Senator McCain.

“You and I are aware that for the last 28 years, the winner of the South Carolina primary has been the nominee of our party for president on the United States,” he told supporters at his victory rally. “We have a ways to go, my friends, and there are some tough contests ahead, starting tomorrow in the state of Florida. But, my friends, we are well on our way tonight.”

However, McCain could not take total victory as Romney easily won the Republican the Nevada caucus Saturday.  Romney was the only top-tier candidate to actively campaign in Nevada, and finished with 52% of the vote. He polled strongly with Mormons, who make up 25% of Republican caucus-goers in Nevada.  

He received news of his Nevada victory mid-flight on his campaign plane, as his wife Ann announced the results over telecom system.

"That's great news, all right," Mr Romney told reporters traveling with him. "All right. We won Nevada. That's good news."

Tied for second place in Nevada were Senator John McCain (Ariz.) and Congressman Ron Paul (Tex.) at 13 percent. Two other candidates, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee and former Senator Fred Thompson (Tenn.) were tied at 8 percent.

Stung by the relative lack of attention paid to the Nevada GOP caucus, the Las Vegas Sun blasted the GOP for snubbing Nevada and staging a “meaningless” contest.

“The Republicans are holding a presidential nominating caucus, but nearly all of the party’s candidates have ignored Nevada,” said the Sun’s editorial on Saturday morning. “One reason is that the Republicans are having a nonbinding caucus, a straw poll of Republicans that won’t decide anything. Furthermore, the candidates are opting to campaign in the GOP battleground state of South Carolina, which is holding its primary on the same day as Nevada’s presidential caucus, rendering our state’s GOP outcome virtually meaningless.”

Yet for Mr Romney, his Nevada victory was far from meaningless. After losing to his rivals Mike Huckabee and John McCain in Iowa and New Hampshire, respectively, he is focused on racking up the most achievable wins to add to his recent victories in Michigan and Wyoming.

"I'm not looking just to get a couple high-profile victories,” said Mr Romney. “I want to get delegates and I want to win this nomination."

Meanwhile, White House hopeful Hillary Clinton emerged victorious from the fiercely contested Democratic caucus in Nevada with a fresh boost of momentum behind her presidential campaign.

Senator Clinton drew strongest support from women and Latino voters who represent a key demographic in Nevada.

“I guess this is how the West was won,” Senator Clinton told a victory rally at Planet Hollywood on the Las Vegas Strip. “We will all be united in November. I don’t think politics is a game. I don’t think elections are just another day in the calendar.”

She also said her campaign had had to overcome “one of the worst negative ads in recent memory”, referring to a Spanish-language radio ad which claimed that Senator Clinton “does not respect our people”.

Senator Clinton slammed the “shameless and offensive” ad earlier this week and called on Senator Obama to denounce it, which he declined to do.

"Senator Obama believes, and has said clearly, that campaigns should fund themselves and discourages supporters from spending outside the campaign," an Obama campaign spokeswoman responded. “As for the Clinton campaign's comment, coming from a campaign that is repeatedly launching absolutely false attacks against Senator Obama, it takes some chutzpah.”

After his defeat in Nevada, Senator Obama, who was supported by 80 percent of African-American caucus-goers, insisted his campaign message had been positive.

“We ran an honest, uplifting campaign in Nevada that focused on the real problems Americans are facing, a campaign that appealed to people’s hopes instead of their fears,” he said. “That’s the campaign we’ll take to South Carolina and across America in the weeks to come, and that’s how we will truly bring about the change this country is hungry for.”

Senators Clinton and Obama also feuded this week over a plan to set up caucusing centers along the Las Vegas Strip to enable casino employees to vote at their worksites.

Senator Clinton opposed the move, which she said gave an unfair advantage to members of the 60,000-strong Culinary Workers Union, which endorsed Senator Obama.

This argument was rejected by US District Judge James C Mahan, who allowed the plan to go ahead.

The mood in the casino caucusing centers was boisterous, with hundreds of workers dividing into groups, cheering loudly for their candidates and booing their rivals.

"It's a little crazy," Sidrit Mulaj, an Albanian-born Clinton supporter, told Reuters.

Other workers like Tracy Ferguson worried that the caucus process took longer than her one-hour lunch break.

"They can't really fire me for this – can they?" she asked. After casting her vote, she bolted from the room to get back to work.

Despite Senator Clinton’s initial concerns, she reportedly won in 7 of the 9 casino caucusing centers set up along the Las Vegas Strip.

After next Saturday’s Democratic bout in South Carolina, political eyes will turn to the one critical February 5 ‘Super Tuesday’ when 22 states will hold their primaries and caucuses.





 

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