Trump and his rivals head to South Carolina
NASHUA, N.H. — Donald Trump and the Republicans chasing him began the battle of South Carolina on Wednesday, one day after Trump's rout in New Hampshire re-established him as the GOP front-runner.
There is "something going on — it's a movement," Trump told NBC's Today show after a win in which he took more than twice the number of voters of his nearest competitor, Ohio Gov. John Kasich.
Trump, who scheduled a Wednesday night rally at Clemson University in South Carolina, claimed New Hampshire eight days after a second-place finish in the Iowa caucuses raised questions about his ability to generate votes to match his poll numbers.
Trump takes N.H. and predicts more wins to come, as Kasich finishes second
With that runner-up finish, Kasich joined Ted Cruz, Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio on the list of Republicans seeking a one-on-one showdown with Trump for the GOP presidential nomination, starting with the Feb. 20 primary in South Carolina.
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While Kasich focused almost all of his campaign on New Hampshire, he told NBC's Today show that the grass-roots organization he used in that state is one that "we will be able to use throughout the country."
Kasich, who flew overnight to South Carolina and campaigned Wednesday in the Charleston area, said New Hampshire voters responded to his "really positive message" — but he will fight back against Trump or any other candidate who attacks him now that he is emerging in the race.
"I’m happier when I’m being positive than when I’m being negative," Kasich said Wednesday in South Carolina. "I’m not going to sit there and let them pummel me."
After N.H., Kasich vaults to GOP prominence
There is reason to believe that Trump — who has a habit of going after rivals on the rise — has his sights set on Kasich. The New York billionaire did praise Kasich as a "nice guy," but criticized a "false commercial" about him financed by Kasich supporters. "So maybe I’m not in love with him as much as I was prior to hearing the commercial,” Trump told MSNBC's Morning Joe.
Kasich is also taking heat from Bush, a former Florida governor, who says he has the organization and family history to win in South Carolina while Kasich has virtually no infrastructure in the state. Bush, who stumped Wednesday along South Carolina's Atlantic coast, said his candidacy is still alive after a fourth-place finish in New Hampshire.
Bush also vowed to maintain his attacks on Trump, saying the businessman's campaign is based on insults and disparagement, and a Trump nomination would gravely damage the Republican Party in the fall elections.
Republicans in South Carolina want "the most conservative candidate who can win — and that is me," Bush told CNN.
Rubio is also traveling to South Carolina, looking to recover from a disappointing fifth-place finish in New Hampshire. The Florida senator, who had hoped to capitalize on a stronger-than-expected third-place finish in Iowa, cited a poor debate showing in New Hampshire and the "negative" media coverage that followed it.
Deploying the football metaphor, Rubio told reporters he "can't keep thinking about the touchdown I gave up. I gotta get back on the field cause the other team has the ball."
Rubio supporters down, but not fazed after N.H.
Also campaigning in South Carolina: Cruz, who won the Iowa caucuses on Feb. 1 and declared success with his apparent third-place finish in New Hampshire.
As the votes rolled in Tuesday, the Cruz campaign sent out a fundraising email telling backers: "We are just 11 days from the tipping point" of the Republican race — "the South Carolina primary."
Cruz, who relied heavily on evangelical voters in Iowa, foresees a Southern showdown with Trump, and told reporters in South Carolina that the "only candidate that can beat Donald Trump is me." His campaign released an ad designed to question whether the New York businessman is even a conservative, citing his past Democratic ties. The comic ad shows children playing with a Donald J. Trump doll that "pretends to be a Republican."
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Republican pollster Frank Luntz said Trump's blow-out win in New Hampshire returns him to front-runner status, and vividly demonstrates the anti-establishment mood of many GOP voters.
"It means Republicans are mad as hell ... and they are demanding change," Luntz said.
While votes are the important, convention delegates will decide the Republican nomination.
Based on results in Iowa and New Hampshire, Trump is estimated to have 17 delegates, followed by Cruz (11), Rubio (10), Kasich (4) and Bush (3). A candidate will need 1,237 delegates to secure the nomination.
The Republican presidential field also got smaller on Wednesday. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who finished a disappointing sixth in New Hampshire, ended his bid.
Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina announced in a statement that she was also suspending her campaign after a seventh-place finish the night before.
"While I suspend my candidacy today, I will continue to travel this country and fight for those Americans who refuse to settle for the way things are and a status quo that no longer works for them," she said.