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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Scott Bixby in Columbia, South Carolina, Nicky Woolf in Las Vegas, and Alan Yuhas in New York

Trump wins in South Carolina as Clinton tops Sanders in Nevada – as it happened

Interactive
Live results: Nevada caucuses and South Carolina primary, county by county.

Fellow thwarted Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney applauded Jeb Bush’s campaign in a note on Facebook after Bush announced that he was suspending his campaign for the party’s nomination:

The full text of Romney’s note:

Today, Jeb Bush followed his family’s pattern of putting country above himself. His campaign has been about answers to real problems and about policies to strengthen our country. It has been a campaign conducted in the finest tradition of dignity and integrity and Jeb Bush gave it his all: he can have no regrets. I am proud to call him a friend.

What we learned from a big Saturday in South Carolina and Nevada

Three time zones apart, the eight presidential candidates from two parties vied for the hearts, minds and votes of South Carolina and Nevada. And if Saturday night’s results were any indication, many Americans are starting to really see the 2016 campaign as an opportunity for revolution. (Oh, and then there were seven.)

Donald Trump speaks at his election night party in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
Donald Trump speaks at his election night party in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Photograph: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

As watch parties and victory parties and “so long and thanks for all the fish” parties rage from Las Vegas to a place Donald Trump likes called Spartanburg, here are a few quick takeaways from the third round of a gauntlet toward the White House:

Bush family values only get you so far

Nearly every Republican presidential candidate applauded the campaign run by Jeb Bush, who dropped out after a bitterly disappointing fourth-place finish in South Carolina, a state that helped make the Bush dynasty.

  • Ted Cruz called him “a man who ran a campaign based on ideas, based on policy, based on substance – a man who didn’t go to the gutter and engage in insults and attacks”. (He was pretty much talking about Trump.)
  • “He’s the greatest governor in the history of Florida, and I believe and I pray that his service to our country has not ended,” said Marco Rubio, Bush’s one-time protégé who vanquished the mentor and was racing for second-place.

And yet! Despite his principled stand against Trump – Bush was, for a stretch, the only candidate willing to take on the New York billionaire – the voters wouldn’t, or couldn’t, embrace him. The success of Cruz’s campaign tactics in Iowa and, to a point, in South Carolina only underscore the reality that a willingness to play hard and even dirty is the most effective weapon in a campaign like this.

Clinton has slowed the Bern – for now

A few months ago, Hillary Clinton was expecting to take the Nevada caucuses in a walk. But she was backed into a corner of flesh-gripping and selfie-taking in the waning hours before the horse-trading began.

A loss on Saturday would have represented an existential crisis for Clinton, but a single-digit win in a diverse, working-class state like Nevada is hardly the victory the former secretary of state was hoping for.

South Carolina and the so-called “Super Tuesday” states of the deep south promise to be more hospitable ground for Clinton. But it’s going to take the kind of footwork that usually stops after the New Hampshire primaries. Verdict: we shall see.

The Republican ‘establishment’ still doesn’t have a candidate

Bush was frequently criticized for selfishly using his Smaug cave’s worth of campaign cash to wage a one-man war against Marco Rubio, who many in the Republican establishment see as the party’s best chance at winning the White House in the general election.

Should Bush drop out, the criticism went, Rubio’s road to the nomination would be cleared for mainstream Republican support. But even with Bush gone, Ohio governor John Kasich remains in the race, galvanized by his surprise second-place finish in the New Hampshire primaries and ready for a long-haul primary campaign until his home state votes on March 15.

Even if every one of Bush’s supporters had voted for Rubio in South Carolina, the Florida senator still would have come in second to Trump. Rubio needs every “establishment” vote the polity has to offer, and Kasich has no intention of giving them up without a fight. Meanwhile, Trump’s delegate count will continue to climb...

Donald Trump has cleared a path to the nomination

Yes, you read that right. With the notable exception of the 2012 primary campaign, every candidate who has won two of the first three contests has secured the Republican nomination.

Trump captured a guaranteed 29 delegates from Saturday’s win in South Carolina, and the likelihood is that he’ll win the vast majority of the state’s remaining 21 district-based delegates, too.

Trump is now on the verge of having more than twice as many delegates as his nearest Republican rival. Cruz and Rubio may decry “the pundits” who have called the race for Trump, but mathematics don’t lie.

You say you want a revolution?

Two months ago, Clinton’s lead in Nevada appeared nearly insurmountable. Six months ago, the notion that the billionaire Donald Trump could actually win two primaries would have gotten you locked in a padded room.

And yet! Here we are. Dissatisfaction with the political status quo is no longer easily dismissed as the capricious anger of the perennially dissatisfied; it’s the motivating force behind the two most ascendent political campaigns on the national stage.

(Oh, and Expect Ben Carson to drop out after the Nevada caucuses on Tuesday – earlier, if he has to go home for a fresh change of clothes.)

That’s it from Columbia, South Carolina. Tune in tomorrow, the next day, and every day after that as the Guardian documents the minute-by-minute happenings in the most dramatic presidential primary campaign in living memory.

It’s the final countdown...

Updated

How many days until Christmas?

Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush announced the end of his campaign in South Carolina, following a weaker than expected performance in the state primary.

An emotional Bush told the gathered audience that he was proud of the campaign he has run, but that “the people of Iowa, and New Hampshire, and South Carolina have spoken, and I really respect their decision.”

It was impossibly sad to watch Ted Cruz supporters watch Ted Cruz lose the state where he was supposed to claim the mantle of lawyers, guns and God – or at least finish second – and ended up admitting he remained “in a position to win this race”.

Fox News was blaring at the start (“Cruz’s to lose”) and then blaring a little less (“This is domination for Trump”) and then when the news came – “Cruz could come in third” – they just cut the audio altogether. Up came the country music, full-blast.

A Cruz spokesperson raced to clarify that Fox News had asked the campaign to change the audio for when they cut to this room here at the state fairgrounds in Columbia.

But here’s what a quiet, third-place “party” looks like when it’s not on TV:

And then they cut to the room on Fox, cued the crowd and – hey, where’s the country music now?

Fox was still half-blaring by the time a half-empty room was less half-empty: “If he can’t win South Carolina, where is he going to win?”

Bob Woodward, a 56-year-old member of the South Carolina Pastor’s Alliance here in Richland County, was barking back.

Trump was doing his wall thing, asking his victory crowd who was going to build The Wall. Mexico, is what he makes the crowd say. To which Woodward yelled at one of the two extra-large screens in a ballroom: “And how you gonna make ’em do it?”

“I think that Donald Trump is the biggest farce in this election,” said the pastor, sitting down on a disappointing night. “He’s just a cheerleader’s cheerleader.”

But there was not much cheering in Columbia. They were messaging that it was a “two-man race” for the simple fact that Cruz had actually won a state – and that he was from Texas, which comes up big on Super Tuesday in 10 day’s time.

“There’s 50 states in this great nation,” the congressman Jeff Duncan said introducing Mister Third Place.

“Fifty-seven!” shouted a woman in the back, citing the Texas secessionist movement.

On Fox, Trump was talking about “Making America great again.” At the fairgrounds, a woman who had travelled from New Jersey, wearing a red, white and blue varsity jacket with the word CRUZ across the back, was talking about going home: “I think it’s a sad night for America,” she said.

Ted Cruz, carrying his daughter on stage and looking despondent or at least a little tired, told supporters he and Marco Rubio had so far “effectively tied for second place”.

“Only one strong conservative is in a position to win this race,” he said at the state fairgrounds in Columbia, proclaiming himself as a general-election option against Hillary Clinton who, as opposed to Rubio, had already won a state in the primary campaign.

“We are the only campaign that has beaten and can beat Donald Trump. That’s why Donald relentlessly attacks us and ignores the other candidates.”

The Texas senator’s campaign ran up against an anti-establishment blockade from Trump, broke down in the evangelical north of the state that he was supposed to maintain and failed to surge with a message about the Supreme Court beyond a stray last-minute poll. Nonetheless, he said his campaign had left “the Washington cartel in full terror” of an uprising that he might still lead.

“As president, I will rebuild our military,” Ted Cruz says, “stand unequivocally with the nation of Israel, and utterly destroy Isis.”

“Together, we will secure the borders and keep America safe,” he continues. “And I give you my solemn word that every justice I appoint to the supreme court will be a principled constitutionalist who will be faithful and will vigilantly protect the rights of our children and grandchildren.”

“When I look at our young daughters,” Cruz says, “I know that I will fight with every breath in my body to ensure that they enjoy the same fundamental liberties that all of us have been blessed to inherit.”

“We will not go quietly into the night and give up on a brighter America.”

“If you don’t believe that Donald Trump is the best candidate to run against Hillary Clinton in November, if you believe we need a strong contrast with the Democrats, then we welcome you aboard our team,” Ted Cruz says.

“We welcome you to be part of the over 200,000 volunteers and over 980,000 contributions - join us at TedCruz.org.”

The crowd begins another “Ted! Ted! Ted!” chant, this one longer and louder than the first.

South Carolina has given us another remarkable result!

– Senator Ted Cruz, on his possible third-place finish.

“This election will be a referendum on the supreme court - and let me tell you, I cannot wait to stand on that debate stage with Hillary Clinton, or Bernie Sanders, or whatever other socialist they nominate and make the case against their radical interpretation of the constitution!” Cruz says.

The line falls, oddly, flat.

“First Iowa, then New Hampshire, now South Carolina. We don’t know the exact results right now - right now we are tied for second place. But each time we defy expectations, and defy the pundits,” Cruz says, spawning a spontaneous outburts of “Ted! Ted! Ted!” chants.

“The screaming you hear now from across the Potomac is the Washington cartel in full terror that the conservative grassroots found a voice!” Cruz cheers, before leading a moment of silence for the late supreme court justice Antonin Scalia, who he describes as a “ferocious defender of the constitution and the bill of rights.”

“As Ronald Reagan was to the presidency, so, too, was justice Scalia to the supreme court,” Cruz says, reiterating a common line from his stump speech.

Ted Cruz lauds newly minted dropout Jeb Bush, to polite applause from the assembled, as “a man who ran a campaign based on ideas, based on policy, based on substance, a man who didn’t go to the gutter and engage in insults and attacks.”

“Governor Bush brought honor and dignity to this campaign.”

The second-to-last presidential candidate to speak following the South Carolina Republican primaries, Texas senator Ted Cruz began his speech at the Cruz campaign’s watch party in Columbia with to the strains of Where The Stars And Stripes And Eagle Fly and huge applause from his supporters.

“You continue to defy the pundits and to produce extraordinary results,” Cruz began.

Updated

From Jeb Bush’s watch party/wake in South Carolina:

Shell Suber, 49, told the Guardian that his feelings were “hard to put into words”.

“You work really hard to convince people he’s the best candidate,” he said. “But you have to get enough people to understand and believe it.”

Suber, from Columbia, described this as “an odd year” for Republican politics. “There’s so many candidates. And then there’s a celebrity candidate who has made it so difficult for the rest of us to get our message out and make our case.”

Suber said he did not see what else Bush could have done.

“A lot of people will say he should have attacked Trump sooner but none of those people thought he would be a serious candidates back in June or July.”

Updated

Ted Cruz takes the stage in Columbia, South Carolina

Still locked in a close battle for second place in the South Carolina Republican primary with bitter rival Marco Rubio, Texas senator Ted Cruz has taken to the stage at the South Carolina State Fairgrounds in Columbia, the capital of and largest city in the Palmetto State.

Moments after South Carolina victor Donald Trump declared that he was going to “put this thing away,” Cruz made it clear to his supporters that the campaign for the Republican nomination is far from over.

“For me, the state of South Carolina will always be the place of new beginnings and fresh starts,” Marco Rubio says. “I know that God’s hand is on everything, and so whatever God’s will is in this election is ultimately what will happen to us and to our country.”

“But if it is God’s will that I serve as our 45th president, if it is God’s will that we win this election, then history will say that on this night in South Carolina that we took the first steps in the beginning of a new American century!”

And with that, Marco Rubio finishes the most victorious third-place speech in American history.

“Tonight, for those watching at home, i ask you to join us in this effort. This has been a long road,” Marco Rubio says. “I know that our campaign gives us the best chance not just to come together, not just to unify our party, but to unify our country.”

If tonight you are that single mother who has made it the purpose of your life to give your children a better life than yourself, we conservatives will fight for you!

– Marco Rubio.

Marco Rubio frames his potential third-place finish in South Carolina as bringing him to inherit the position of conservative icon Ronald Reagan, who was elected president after the “failed” presidency of Jimmy Carter.

“And then we elected a president who inspired us - a president who asked us to remember who we were and believed as we do that America’s greatest days are still ahead,” Rubio says.

“Ronald Reagan made us believe that it was morning in America again, and it was,” Rubio continues. “Now, the children of Reagan are ready to assume the mantle of leadership. Those of us who grew up when it was morning in America and Ronald Reagan was in the White House are ready to do for the next generation what Ronald Reagan did for ours!”

“I have an incredible affection and admiration for governor Bush and his family,” Rubio begins.

“Jeb Bush has many things to be proud of: he’s an extraordinary father, he’s an extraordinary husband,” Rubio continues. “He’s the greatest governor in the history of Florida, and I believe and I pray that his service to our country has not ended.”

Marco Rubio takes the stage at watch party in Columbia, South Carolina

Although the race for second place in the South Carolina Republican primary is still too close to call, Florida senator Marco Rubio has taken the stage triumphantly in Columbia, South Carolina, after campaign spokespeople told reporters that the campaign would consider a third-place finish in the Palmetto State a victory.

Rubio is within tenths of a point of bitter rival Ted Cruz.

Jeb Bush’s decision to drop out also represents an existential challenge to Donald Trump.

The real estate mogul has made Bush his whipping boy throughout the campaign. Trump seemingly attacks Bush at every campaign event. He has labeled the former Florida governor as “low energy” and repeatedly attacked Bush’s family, his character and ethics. The question is how Trump will fare without his favorite foil.

“Whether we got to Dallas, or whether we go anywhere you say,” Trump says, “our people are incredible.”

“And what’s our theme?” he asks the crowd rhetorically.

“Our theme - which I love! - may be the greatest theme of all time,” Trump says. “Make America great again!”

“South Carolina, we will never forget you! We will never forget you! We will never ever forget you! We will never forget all the people who helped us so much!”

“Let’s put this thing away!” Trump shouts, and exits the stage.

“We’re now off to Nevada - it’s a great state, and we’ve got great people,” Donald Trump says, preparing for the Nevada caucuses in just a few days. “The only thing that stops the crowds are the walls!”

“We are going to protect our second amendment!” Donald Trump declares, to widespread applause.

Ted Cruz’s campaign and sympathetic super PACs had unleashed a massive wave of radio advertisements highlighting past statements by Donald Trump pushing in favor of gun control. Clearly, they didn’t work as expected.

“When China wants to come and negotiate, they’re not gonna negotiate with a political hack... they’re gonna negotiate with the best business minds in the country,” Donald Trump says.

Donald Trump is confident about his odds in heavily Latino Nevada:

“We’re going to Nevada - I lead with the Hispanics!” Trump says. “I’m leading with every poll with the Hispanics. They love me, I love them.”

“I also want to congratulate the other candidates - in particular, Ted and Marco did a pretty good job, I understand,” Trump says. “There’s nothing easy about running for president, I can tell you. It’s tough, it’s mean, it’s nasty, it’s vicious... it’s beautiful.”

“When you win, it’s beautiful.”

Thank you, South Carolina! This is an amazing, amazing night. The momentum since the beginning of this campaign has been unbelievable, and that’s because my father’s message resonates so deeply with so many people.

– Ivanka Trump, about her father.

“Ivanka, you know, we have a hospital ready just in case,” he says of his heavily pregnant daughter, adding that a South Carolina birth for his grandchild would be fine with him.

“It could even be before I finish my speech!” he adds.

Donald Trump, newly minted South Carolina victory, calls the state “special, special,” before thanking his volunteers.

“The SEC is gonna be very, very exciting - we expect to do very, very well,” Trump says.

Donald Trump takes the stage after winning South Carolina primary

Billionaire Donald Trump, newly minted victor of the first-in-the-South primary in South Carolina, has taken the stage at his watch party (now victory rally) in Spartanburg to chants of “U-S-A! U-S-A!”

Tonight I’m gonna sleep with the best friend that I have, the love of my life.

– Jeb Bush, about his wife Columba.

Bush thanks his mother, former first lady Barbara Bush; his older brother, former president George W Bush; and his father, former president George HW Bush, who he describes as “the greatest man I have ever met”.

He’s got a son, but the dynasty, well...

Updated

“I am so grateful to senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina for his steadfast support,” Bush says. “And his amazing humor. He sole the line that I’m now saying, which is that he’s become a friend for life.”

Updated

I congratulate my competitors who are remaining on the island.

– Jeb Bush, on dropping out of the race.

Jeb Bush drops out of 2016 campaign

Former Florida governor Jeb Bush took to the stage in South Carolina after a disappointing finish in the Palmetto State’s first-in-the-South Republican primary that has left him trailing in a distant fourth place to Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio.

“The people in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina have spoken, and tonight I am suspending my campaign,” said Bush.

Not too many people are watching Ben Carson’s speech...

Retired pediatric neurosurgeon Ben Carson is speaking at his election-night watch party in South Carolina, declaring that “I’m not going anywhere” and that he will not leave the campaign - despite the fact this his Republican opponents have stooped to “dirty” campaign tactics to keep him at the bottom of the race.

“They will do anything - and I mean anything - to maintain their power and to maintain their position,” Carson said.

Updated

CNN reports that Marco Rubio has won Greenville, home of Bob Jones University, known as the “evangelical Harvard.” It was supposed to be a secure spot for Ted Cruz, who had emphasized his social conservative bona fides in the closing weeks of the South Carolina primary campaign.

In Greenville earlier today, the Guardian’s Matt Sullivan spoke with Lydia Danley, 28, who works at Bob Jones University and voted for Rubio.

Lydia Danley, left, with her sister.
Lydia Danley, left, with her sister. Photograph: Matt Sullivan for the Guardian

Of the issues that matter to her, family was the main motivation behind her support for Rubio. “ Rubio’s strong message on the family definitely resonated with me,” Danley said. “As long as it’s anybody but Trump - I was already gonna vote, but Trump made it a must.”

Kasich for America chief strategist John Weaver issued the following statement tonight after the polls closed in South Carolina, with the Ohio governor currently in fifth place with 8% of the vote in the Palmetto State, with 25.5% of precincts reporting:

Tonight it became a four-person race for the nomination. Only four candidates have top-three finishes in any of the early states and can justify staying in. At the same time, John Kasich has now won the so-called ‘Governors Bracket’ by continuing to run strong and beat expectations. While others were making their last stand in South Carolina, John Kasich strengthened his organization and support - despite being outspent by tens of millions of dollars. He also focused on the key states ahead for us, like Michigan, where he is currently second, Massachusetts and Vermont. Next week the governor campaigns in Virginia - where he is third, Georgia, and other states where he is rising. As the race narrows to four candidates and enters the next phase, it also turns toward states that favor the governor and make his path to the nomination increasingly clear.

Presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton took to the stage in Las Vegas after her win against rival Bernie Sanders in the state’s Democratic caucuses earlier this evening.

Clinton’s victory was announced after just less than 65% of the precincts had reported results. Clinton told the gathered audience that her success is due to her supporters “who never wavered”, and said her campaign was about breaking down barriers.

Updated

Everyone seems to be having a pretty good time at Jeb Bush’s party. But that might have something to do with the fact there is no television in here. There’s no way to follow the results at all.

Bush supporters are in the dark, as far as results go.
Bush supporters are in the dark, as far as results go. Photograph: Adam Gabbatt for the Guardian

I just spoke to one supporter who was brutally honest. Mark Sterling, 21, was wearing a Jeb! sticker and holding a sign. He likes Bush because of his strong stance on gun control, he said.

“I’m a hunter. That’s something I enjoy.”

Sterling studies at the University of South Carolina but is registered to vote in his home state of Maryland. He doesn’t fancy Bush’s chances of making it that far.

“Realistically I’ll vote for Trump by the time we get to Maryland.”

They didn’t match on purpose!
They didn’t match on purpose! Photograph: Adam Gabbatt for the Guardian

Additional note: Sterling, here on the right, is wearing an outfit identical to 90% of Republican males under 30. He said he did not deliberately coordinate with his friend.

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders made a speech to his supporters in Las Vegas just a few moments ago following his loss in the state to rival Hillary Clinton.

Sanders told the crowd that the key issue of his campaign has been momentum – “bringing more and more people into the political process” – but he also targeted the “corrupt campaign finance system which is undermining American democracy.”

As it stands, you could combine Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio’s support in the South Carolina Republican primaries and they would still have lost to Donald Trump.

Sorry, Floridians.
Sorry, Floridians. Photograph: The Guardian

The chattering classes are borderline apoplectic

Donald Trump’s win in South Carolina - a state famous for its social conservatism, hawkish views on foreign policy and distrust of an expansive federal government - has longtime politicos in a state of shock.

How do you think Trump pulled it off? Give us your takes in the comments!

From Guardian US columnist Jeb Lund, who has spent the night watching CNN so you don’t have to:

CNN ANCHOR WOLF BLITZER: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to an exciting night of Politicsball. The candidates are just emerging onto the field. This is going to be a great day for Politicsball. And it looks like it could be very exci—

CNN ANCHOR JAKE TAPPER: I’d just like to cut in here for a moment, Wolf. After 13 seconds and with 1% of the vote in, Donald Trump has won the South Carolina primary.

BLITZER: Well, um, we know that you’re looking at that very closely, and, uhhhh, this is something that we’ll be looking at very closely through the rest of the night, with your CNN election team, looking, ah, very closely. But that, ahhhhh, that brings up how it looks like the other candidates will fare. There’s still a lot of time left on the clock. And we have to be on the air for several hours yet.

REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST GLORIA BORGER: That’s the thing, we have to look at Marco Rubio. We’re not in the bottom of the 9th yet. What is he doing? What does he have to do? I think he has to play his game. He can’t play their game. He has to stay within himself, not try to do too much, not try to force that pitch out there.

DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST PAUL BEGALA: That’s true, but Ted Cruz is a strong competitor and has a chance at second. A lot of people says he has no chemistry with the Republican establishment. They hate him. But you know what good chemistry is? Winning. The 1977 Yankees were a mess, but nobody cares about the locker room when you win the next game.

FORMER CRUZ STAFFER AMANDA CARPENTER: But is there a next game for Bush? Bush changed his focus and stepped up to the plate with Donald Trump, started playing the man, not the ball, and I think that was a mistake. Bush was the crafty veteran. He was supposed to be thinking two pitches ahead, but Trump got into his head. He was thinking about the last pitch, not the next one.

RADIO HOST SMERCONISH: (haltingly) Michael Smerconish.

BLITZER: Not to be a Monday morning quarterback, but did Donald Trump do enough to deliver a knockout punch here in South Carolina? Or has moving too many lengths ahead meant that he’s dropped the ball, letting someone else intercept his message and start a Super Tuesday comeback by not trying to swing for the fences and just try to make it with the base?

ALL: It’s too soon to tell.

In a counterpoint to the jubilant crowd at Donald Trump’s watch party in Spartanburg, South Carolina, the crowd at Ted Cruz’s watch party in Columbia is... despondent.

Voters want to change the way DC functions, and the only way to do that is to elect Donald Trump.

– Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, to reporters.

Updated

The crowd at Donald Trump’s watch party - now victory rally - celebrates the New York billionaire’s victory in the South Carolina Republican primary.

Within seconds of Fox News declaring that Texas senator Ted Cruz had finished in a disappointing third in the South Carolina Republican primary, the Cruz campaign staffer in charge of the audio switched the speakers at the event here at the South Carolina State Fairgrounds in Columbia to a bracingly loud country music soundtrack.

“Let’s put on some music in here!” a man in a newly purchased Cruz-branded jersey shouted to no one in particular.

The down-ballot results are still too close to call here in South Carolina.

A Cruz spokesperson raced to the media table to clarify that Fox News had asked the campaign to change the audio, and that the broadcast was not muted out of terror.

Updated

A lot of pursed lips at the South Carolina State Fairgrounds right now.

At Ted Cruz’s watch party in Columbia, South Carolina, news that the Associated Press has called the South Carolina primary for bitter rival Donald Trump has dampened what was, at once point, a boisterous atmosphere.

Donald Trump wins South Carolina primary – AP calls it

The Associated Press has called the South Carolina Republican primary for New York billionaire Donald Trump.

The win – Trump’s second since his double-digit victory in New Hampshire – further clears the first-time candidate’s path toward the Republican nomination for the White House.

With just a trickle of votes reporting so far, Trump has captured 32.5% of South Carolina’s Republican voters, beating Texas senator Ted Cruz’s 22.3% and Florida senator Marco Rubio’s 20.9%, according to preliminary estimates by the Associated Press. Jeb Bush languishes in a distant fourth place at 11.8%, in what may spell the final moments of the Bush dynasty’s latest bid for the presidency.

Trump has been the Republican frontrunner – both in South Carolina and nationally – since the first few weeks of his improbable candidacy, but with two of the first three presidential nominating contests having named him the winner, he is building a strong delegate lead that will make it even harder for his fellow candidates to catch up.

Paired with a closer than anticipated finish for Democratic socialist Bernie Sanders in Nevada’s dueling Democratic caucus earlier today, it’s shaping up to be a good night for outsiders.

Updated

Exit polls showed that while Ted Cruz reliably won voters who described themselves as “very conservative” by a margin of 38% to 27% over Donald Trump, the real estate mogul narrowly edged the Texas senator among those Republican voters who identified as evangelical.

Trump continued to build his coalition among voters who described themselves as angry and his supporters were disproportionately less educated. Trump got 38% of the vote among those without college degrees and only 24%, behind Rubio, among those with a college education.

The mood is buoyant at the Donald Trump party preparations in Spartanburg, South Carolina, with a vibrant crowd of supporters regularly breaking out into chants and plenty of cheese and crackers on hand.

Crowd at Trump’s watch party in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
Crowd at Trump’s watch party in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Photograph: Lee Glendinning for the Guardian
A Trump fan.
A Trump fan. Photograph: Lee Glendinning for the Guardian

Earlier today in Chapin, South Carolina, primary voters Jane and Bob, a retired teacher and Bell South employee, respectively, highlighted the surprisingly anti-establishment nature of this campaign cycle.

Jane and Bob, of Chapin, South Carolina, who voted for Jeb Bush and Donald Trump, respectively.
Jane and Bob, of Chapin, South Carolina, who voted for Jeb Bush and Donald Trump, respectively. Photograph: Scott Bixby for the Guardian

Jane, upon finding out her husband voted for Trump, was shocked.

“You did not!” she exclaimed.

Bob was apologetic. “We didn’t talk about it!”

When asked why she voted for Jeb Bush, Jane cited his policy on education. “I’m a retired teacher, and I think that Bush is the best for education, which nobody seems to talk about too much this year.”

For his part, Bob was less interested in particular policy points than the cultural shift that Trump represents. “Political correctness is dooming this country,” Bob said. “They all take money from outsiders, and Donald Trump has his own money.”

Bernie Sanders may, like Steve Jobs, be living in a reality distortion field.

Delivering his speech in defeat in Nevada, he confidently declared the polls were moving his way. “We have made some real progress here,” he began. He said at the heart of the campaign was “the issue of momentum”, that he was closing the gap in the polls and that “we have come a very long way”.

All of which may be true – but it just isn’t enough because, well, he lost in Nevada.

“The wind is at our backs,” he said. “We have the momentum.”

All this comes a week before the Democratic primary in South Carolina, where Bernie is heading for what looks like a decisive defeat.

Sanders has promised one of the great political upsets at the Democratic convention in Philadelphia in July. He’s got to deliver a few more state-by-state upsets – more than just New Hampshire – before he can deliver on that promise.

Updated

Polls close in South Carolina Republican primary

Donald Trump at a rally in North Charleston.
Donald Trump at a rally in North Charleston. Photograph: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

Greetings from South Carolina, where the polls have just closed in the first-in-the-south primary election.

Your blog, which is also still in Nevada, is now half-embedded here at the primary-night watch party for Ted Cruz at the South Carolina State Fairgrounds in Columbia, the capital and largest city in the Palmetto State.

We’ve also got political reporter Ben Jacobs up in Spartanburg with Donald Trump and Sabrina Siddiqui here in Columbia with Marco Rubio ... plus Adam Gabbatt across town with perhaps the near-end of Jeb Bush and his family dynasty.

The mood in Cruz’s camp is an optimistic one as voters surged across the state in a primary that multiple precinct clerks told the Guardian is on pace to shatter voter turnout records. Although b Trump has run a double-digit lead in every South Carolina poll since, well, polling began, the Texas senator has been closing the gap over the past week, with Florida senator Marco Rubio hot on his heels in a battle for second place.

If our completely un-scientific exit polling – conducted at polling stations in Chapin, Prosperity, Newberry, Greenville and Daniel Island, South Carolina – is any indication, Saturday’s primary is Trump’s to lose. (The TV networks’ exit polls, which are yours to distrust, say Cruz is doing pretty well but Trump’s got the edge.)

Mark Rushton of Chapin told the Guardian that all members of congress should be kicked out of government after their second term, and that his vote for Trump was a vote against career politicians. “All the politicians are lining their pockets – Trump’s got his own pockets!”

Cruz, however, is banking on voters like Debbie Nogueira of Greenville, who have been turned off by Trump’s braggadocio and inconsistent support of conservative causes. “It was a hard decision – I didn’t even know until last week who I was gonna vote for,” Nogueira told the Guardian. “It was more about voting against Donald Trump than anything. I don’t like his attitude, he doesn’t seem to be of presidential material. He had Democratic opinions until five years ago, when he decided he could win as a Republican!”

The results are expected to roll in relatively quickly, so stay tuned for our moment-by-moment rundown of Saturday night’s live battle down south ...

Updated

Jen Palmieri, Clinton’s communications director, addressed reporters at her victory party.

People are looking for a president that can take care of all the problems people are facing and that can remove all the barriers that are holding them back... Since coming out of Iowa she has been speaking about and demonstrated ... by going to Flint that it’s not just economics, although that’s also important, it’s about creating jobs and it’s about removing other barriers, whether it’s about holding people back from being able to afford college or health care or housing discrimination or here in Nevada where they’re recovering from the housing mess, that she’s someone who can deal with all the problems and deliver results.

Senator Sanders has run a very good campaign. He speaks very passionately to a lot of the anger, justifiably so that eople feel here. But we think that the longer the campaign goes on the more apparent it becomes as she makes her argument that she has solutions that will actually work and make a difference in people’s lives for all the barriers that hold them back. The most core principle that has motivated her all of her life is doing whatever she can to removing the barriers that stand in people’s way for having opportunity.

She said tonight ... that the country can’t live to its potential until each of us can live up to our own. That’s what’s always motivated her.

I don’t know the actual numbers RE unions, Maria reports, but it’s something that she and president Clinton spent a lot of time working on and they were very supportive of her in the past. We’ll have to see what the exit polls say.

Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Reince Priebus released the following statement on the Nevada caucus:

Hillary Clinton’s surprising underperformance in a state she should have won handily is another blow for her struggling campaign. Coming off a disastrous 22-point loss in New Hampshire, Hillary Clinton fell far short of the resounding victory she needed to calm the nerves of the Democrat establishment. Just weeks ago, the Clinton campaign was projecting a blowout but they once again had to pull out all of the stops to avoid another loss.

The fact Bernie Sanders has shown the ability to compete anywhere on the map says as much about Democrats’ dissatisfaction with Hillary Clinton and her weaknesses as a candidate as it does about the sharp left turn their Party has taken. A prolonged nominating contest where Hillary Clinton is forced to outflank a self-avowed socialist will only make it easier for Republicans to recapture the White House.

Lastly, as you know, taking on the establishment - whether it is the political establishment, the economic establishment - is not easy.

But, he continues, “we have the momentum; and I believe that when Democrats assemble in Philadelphia in July at that convention, we are going to see the results of one of the great political upsets in the history of the United States.”

The crowd goes wild.

“Now it’s on to Super Tuesday,” he finishes.

Not a subdued concession speech - a much more aggressive tack taken by senator Sanders there.

He thanks his supporters; his “thousands of volunteers, including many of you, for working tirelessly. I want to thank our staff for the great job that they have done.”

“I am especially proud that here in Nevada - we’re seeing this all over the country - we are bringing working people, young people into the political process in a way we have not seen for a very long time.”

He says in a short time, he will be “on a plane to South Carolina.”

I believe, on Super Tuesday, we have got a chance to win many of those states.

Now he hits out at Clinton: “But I also know that on Super Tuesday and before, we will be taking on a very powerful and well funded super PAC, which receives money from wall street and special interests.”

Updated

What this entire campaign has been about is the issue of momentum - the issue of bringing more people into the political process. When we began in Iowa we were 50 points behind. We were 44 points behind in New Hampshire. We were a long way behind here.

He hits out at the “corrupt campaign finance system which is undermining our democracy.”

If Hillary Clinton’s speech was practically an inaugural address, Sanders’ speech is a Greatest Hits album.

The American people are catching on that we have a rigged economy - people working two or three hours, longer and longer hours, for all income to go to the top one percent.

Updated

Bernie Sanders is speaking

To adoring cheers and chants of “Bernie! Bernie!” from the crowd, Sanders thanks Nevada for “the extraordinary support we’ve recieved today.

“You know, five weeks ago we were 25 points behind in the polls,” he says. The audience erupts again.

Dan Cantor, the director of the Working Families Party, a progressive political party which has endorsed Bernie Sanders, released the following statement in response to the results of today’s Nevada caucus:

“ It looks like the firewall is berning up.Today, it’s clear that Bernie Sanders’ campaign will be competitive in every single state. Just a few months ago, Sanders was trailing by thirty points in Nevada and the establishment was confident that today would prove Bernie could not broaden his appeal beyond white voters. Caucus entrance polls are showing that Bernie Sanders won among Latino voters today.
Every week, people hear more about Bernie Sanders, and the more they hear, the more they like him. That’s because Sanders’ campaign is not about one unlikely candidate, but about all of us who believe that we must rise to the challenges of our times, from economic inequality to structural racism to climate change. We won’t shy away.”

Who needs a candidate when there’s loud music, a happy crowd and a victory to be celebrated, Maria La Ganga reports from Hillary Clinton’s victory party in Las Vegas.

Joy Silver, a Hillary Clinton volunteer from Palm Springs, got to the former secretary of state’s post-caucus fete at Caesars Palace on the Las Vegas strip long before Clinton herself. And what did Silver do to fill the time? Dance. And dance. And dance.

“I door knocked, canvassed, helped during the caucus, registered people,” said the silver-haired woman in jeans and a Clinton tee who traveled from California to help the campaign. “I’m so happy. This is a thrilling, thrilling moment.”

From Guardian US columnist Richard Wolffe:

This is the start of a big week for Hillary Clinton. After the traditionally quirky first two states of Iowa and New Hampshire, this week’s contests took the Democratic race to a national level.

With the win in Nevada, and a commanding lead in the polls in South Carolina, Clinton can switch to a national campaign – a switch that started with her victory speech that checked off a list of target groups that she hopes will be her coalition moving forward.

She talked about grandparents forced to choose between paying rent or paying for medicine; African-American families denied mortgages; small towns and rural communities. She even found time to talk about “coal country, Indian country”. It was like she was hop-scotching through the groups that she hopes will win her the next batch of primaries.

Then came the punch to the Bernie Sanders message: “The truth is, we aren’t a single issue country” she said. “We need more than a plan for the big banks.”

Clinton talked about “real solutions” – and by implication, not “fake” ones. She talked about jobs. And most of all, she talked about not tearing each other down: “We are all in this together” she said at least twice.

The clearest sign of rising confidence in the Clinton campaign was her victory speech in Nevada: it was a national message for a candidate who hopes and believes she can now build a national lead.

Updated

Decked out in red and standing beside her beaming husband, Clinton look happy and relieved but was more resolute for the race ahead than jubilant about what her tearful Nevada state director called a “big, big win.”

But her supporters were happy enough for the whole campaign. They were boisterous when Clinton took the stage and interrupted her victory speech with cheers and applause.

They booed at her mention of Flint, Michigan, where lead in the municipal water source has poisoned children. And they cheered lustily when she promised to appoint a Supreme Court justice who supports Democratic positions on the issues. The applause was loud when she dinged Sanders without saying his name -- “we aren’t a single-issue country” -- and even louder when she pledged to raise the wages of the middle class.

“Now I am heading on to Texas, Bill is on his way to Colorado - the fight goes on, the future that we want is within our grasp; god bless you,” she finishes.

Updated

“It can’t just be about what we are going to give to you - it has to be about what we are going to build together,” Clinton continues, echoing (slightly clumsily) Kennedy’s famous “ask not what your country can do for you” line from his 1961 inaugural address.

Updated

“I have never believed in dividing America between us and them,” she says. “I believe we all have to do our part.”

“Some country is going to be the clean energy superpower of the future - either Germany, China, or us,” she says, her speech taking on something of the shape of a State of the Union address. “And I want it to be us.”

She goes over points of agreement with Sanders without mentioning him by name - touching on the influence of dark money on politics, and Wall Street. The effect Sanders has had on this campaign is very visible.

“We look at our country and see so much that isn’t working the way it should,” she continues. She strikes out at price-gouging by pharmaceutical companies; predatory mortgage lending. “We see a generation of young people coming of age in a world where opportunity seems out of reach.”

Here in Nevada, a young girl told me how scared she is that her parents might be deported. ... and then there’s Flint, Michigan, where children were poisoned by toxic water just because their governor wanted to save a little money.

“Thank you Nevada, thank you so much!” Clinton begins. The crowd chants “Hillary! Hillary!”

I am so thrilled, so grateful to my supporters out there. Some may have doubted us, but we never doubted each other.

I want to congratulate senator Sanders on a well-fought race here.

She thanks “hotel and casino workers ... students and small business owners who never go off the clock.”

“This is your campaign.”

Hillary Clinton takes the stage in Las Vegas

You can watch a live-feed of her remarks here:

Hillary Clinton addresses supporters in Las Vegas

Interesting to note the drop in turnout from 2008:

Here’s the full statement from Bernie Sanders’ campaign on Hillary Clinton’s victory in Nevada:

Bernie Sanders on Saturday congratulated Hillary Clinton on her victory in Nevada’s closely-contested caucuses and looked ahead to carrying his campaign for the White House to primaries and caucuses across the country.

“I just spoke to Secretary Clinton and congratulated her on her victory here in Nevada. I am very proud of the campaign we ran. 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,” Sanders said.

“I am also proud of the fact that we have brought many working people and young people into the political process and believe that we have the wind at our back as we head toward Super Tuesday. I want to thank the people of Nevada for their support that they have given us and the boost that their support will give us as we go forward,” Sanders added.

The close Nevada outcome follows Sanders’ 22-point victory on Feb. 9 in New Hampshire and a virtual tie on Feb. 1 in Iowa. The contest moves next to South Carolina, where Democrats vote on Feb. 27, and then to states across the country.

And Sam Levin is still speaking to people in Reno, as Clinton prepares to speak:

Michael Rudokas, a 24-year-old graduate student, was initially undecided, but he ultimately decided to join the large Sanders group.

“I just feel like she isn’t going to change,” he said. “She is a career politician.”

He said he was at first worried about her viability and about moderates not supporting Sanders. “But I decided I should vote for what I believe in.”

Some of the Clinton supporters tried - unsuccessfully - to sway him. “The Hillary supporters answered questions well and put up a good fight, but they were severely outnumbered ... I just think it would be another four years of the same.”

Updated

Maria La Ganga has been speaking to Clinton supporters at her victory party in Las Vegas.

Jeff Eggleston

Jeff Eggleston wore his emotions on his sleeves Saturday. And his pant legs. And around his neck. And on his feet.

Caucusing at Caesars Palace on the Las Vegas Strip, the 33-year-old senior producer for the Animal Planet show Tanked was decked out in bright red slacks, a blue blazer festooned with stars and a red-white-and-blue bow tie.

His shoes appeared to be of the blue-and-white saddle variety, but it was hard to discern the color in the dark ball room where Hillary Clinton’s post-caucus party was going to be held once the caucus results were out.

Eggleston said he arrived at the casino caucus sort of undecided. He’s been a Hillary Clinton supporter for years, but he said he “wanted to hear from Bernie Sanders supporters’ mouths” why they thought he should be president. They were unpersuasive. Eggleston caucused for Clinton and ended up at the former secretary of state’s fete.

Sanders’ supporters’ “biggest argument is that he’s more trustworthy and not in the pocket of Wall Street,” Eggleston said as he waited for his victorious candidate to appear. “That’s debatable. He’s a politician.”

Eggleston said he’s been a Clinton supporter since “back in the day. I’m from New York. She’s always had my same share of social rights and equal rights. She’s been fighting for them since before Bill Clinton was governor.”

And today, he said, “Feb. 20, 2016, she’s the most prepared and experienced human being America has ever seen for this office.”

Updated

CNN is reporting that Bernie Sanders has called Hillary Clinton to congratulate her on her victory in Nevada.

Also worth bearing in mind that Clinton won the Nevada caucuses in 2008 and went on to lose the primary to Barack Obama.

The final results are not yet in for today’s caucuses, but as they arrive, bear in mind that she won in 2008 by 50.8% to Obama’s 45.1%.

Currently, with three quarters of precincts reporting, Sanders seems to be slightly closer to Clinton than Obama was: 47.7% to 52.3%.

Updated

More than a few voters at Del Webb middle school were disgruntled with the caucus process by the time it was over, in part because of long lines which delayed the process by more than an hour.

Ruth Mormon was among those who signed a platform resolution proposal, which goes to the Nevada Democratic party, to return using primary elections.

“Caucuses are just too inconvenient. Long lines. Time commitments. People couldn’t vote because they couldn’t be here long enough or stay. We had people who had to leave because the delays were so long,” she said.

“There’s the anonymity of primaries. It’s an important part of the democratic process that your vote is private.”

Jennifer Leejoice also signed the petition. She blames Senator Harry Reid who fixed the switch to caucuses so that Nevada could get in early on the primary season. “Normally we love Harry Reid. Not on this one,” she said.

This is the moment supporters at Clinton’s post-caucus fete realized it was really going to be a victory party:

Victory for Clinton

Updated

Some ugly reports coming in here of Bernie supporters chanting to prevent translation from English to Spanish:

Breaking news from MSNBC:

CNN is reporting a “decisive” and “impressive” win for Hillary, which Maria La Ganga says is going down extremely well at the Clinton victory party:

When a CNN reporter broadcast on the screens near the stage said “this is a decisive win” the cheers were loud enough to drown him out.

But is it all that decisive? Sanders is projected to win big among young voters, first-time caucus-goers, and Latinos. And the margin between the two candidates has, however you slice it, narrowed significantly even in the last few weeks.

This race is far from over, folks.

Maria La Ganga is at the Clinton victory party in Las Vegas:

The Clinton victory party ended up being just that. Right before 2.30pm, the television announcers on screens near the stage called the race for Clinton and the ballroom burst into cheers and shouts of Hillary! Hillary!

Chris McGreal, at Del Webb middle school in Las Vegas, spoke to a Clinton supporter:

Updated

Hillary Clinton visits Harrah’s Las Vegas employees on Saturday.
Hillary Clinton visits Harrah’s Las Vegas employees on Saturday. Photograph: John Locher/AP

It’s worth noting that, though Hillary Clinton is projected to win in Nevada, Bernie Sanders held her to the tightest of margins. His campaign will take heart at the extraordinary margins he achieved among young and Latino voters.

Also worth noting that Clinton was a solid 35 points up just a few weeks ago. So this is a sigh-of-relief moment for her, but not an unqualified triumph.

Updated

Hillary Clinton is also calling it for Hillary Clinton:

The Associated Press calls Nevada for Clinton

...with 64.9% of precincts reporting.

Updated

A brief explainer about what the results are likely to mean.

Nevada is not a winner-take-all state; but it is complicated. Of the 43 delegates at stake, eight are “superdelegates,” and not bound by caucus voting, and the remaining 35 will hold off pledging until the convention in July.

This is not the case for the Republican caucus on Tuesday - just the Democrat one.

Remarkably, exit polls appear to be showing Sanders beat Clinton with Latinos in Nevada.

You can read our deep dive into why that may have happened here.

Updated

It shouldn’t have been a surprise, considering the sea of blue T-shirts with “Estoy contigo” on the back and “I’m with her” on the front that filed into the ballroom at Caesars Palace Saturday for the shift-workers’ caucus.

Bernie Sanders’s supporters may have been louder in the hallway outside of the Milano Ballroom, where nearly 300 hotel and casino workers from throughout the Las Vegas strip caucused. But it was the Hillary Clinton backers who won the day.

Sean McBurney, Caesars general manager and chairman of the caucus, implored the gathered workers to “stay for the entirety; I will take the heat from your bosses.” And stay they did. And caucus they did. And on this afternoon their voices were heard.

Given the fact that most of the workers were Hispanic, the casino caucus was bilingual. And seeing as how this particular caucus was a Nevada curiosity – democracy amid the poker chips – almost as many members of the media descended on Caesar’s Saturday.

Shortly after the caucus convened, the hotel workers were instructed to break into preference groups: Clinton’s supporters on one side of the ballroom and Sanders’ on the other. To be a viable candidate, the two Democrats needed to have 15% of the registered voters in the room, or 42.

As the groups aligned, Clinton’s supporters broke into loud, happy chants: “I say madam! You say president! Madam! President! Madam! President!” And “I’m with her.” And “Si se puede!”

Because only two candidates were vying and both exceeded the minimum number of supporters, the caucus was decided fast, on a single vote. “This is the final count, 190 for Secretary Clinton,” McBurney called out, and a cheer went up. “And 81 for Senator Sanders.”

It was a nice start for the former Secretary of State, who was running neck-and-neck with the Vermont senator.

But as longtime politics watcher Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, senior fellow at USC’s Sol Price School of Public Policy, noted after watching the caucus go down, “It’s one caucus.”

Updated

Some more detail on the “house divided” - the couple that Chris McGreal spoke to, one of whom is supporting Sanders, the other Clinton.

Le Roy Graham and Linda Devaull-Graham are a house divided. He backs Clinton, as he did in ’08. She backed Sanders and went with Obama eight years ago. They were voting inside a classroom at the Del Webb middle school where they each attempted to win over supporters among the assembled caucus goes.

Le Roy punted the line that Hilary can get things done. “I’ve been watching Hillary since she was first lady, first lady of Arkansas. She always stood up for people. She was arguing for Obamacare under Bill Clinton’s administration. In a perfect world, Bernie would be the candidate but I don’t think he’s electable,” he said.

His wife leapt in. “That’s what he said about Obama. He wasn’t electable!” she said. Her husband had to concede the point. But when it came to the vote, Clinton knocked Sanders out of the water with Linda just one of three voters who backed him in the classroom. Clinton won 24.

Updated

Over half of precincts now reporting in Nevada

Hillary Clinton is maintaining the slimmest of leads over Bernie Sanders, 51.71% to 48.22%.

Updated

In the caucus in Reno, Hillary Clinton does not receive enough votes to be viable, reports Sam Levin.

Olivia Komanduri, an 18-year-old student supporting Clinton, said she was disappointed but not surprised that she lost here, Sam writes.

I know that the campus culture here is all about Bernie Sanders. They love the idea of a political revolution, they want someone who is different like Bernie, but they don’t understand that Hillary is different, too.

They call her the establishment, but she spent years breaking into the establishment as a woman. She is such a role model to me.

The politics in Sam’s caucus are red in tooth and claw:

Something of a correction from earlier in the blog, where I reported that Hillary Clinton won “all six” coin tosses in Iowa.

An eagle-eyed reader has pointed out that this - which came from an article in the Des Moines register - is not entirely accurate. According to the Washington Post:

Other news articles over the course of the day showed that Sanders won others elsewhere in the state; it was mostly those, it seems, that were reported to the state Democratic party. We may never know how many coin tosses there were in total. But we can estimate how important they were. If Iowa’s 11,000 county delegates, selected Monday, eventually get pared down to 1400 state delegates, that implies that about eight county delegates equal one at the state level. Clinton won Iowa by four state-delegate-equivalents, meaning — according to my calculations — that it would have taken winning about 32 more coin flips than Sanders to have been what put her over the top.

Updated

With more than 40% of Nevada precincts reporting, the race remains excruciatingly close: Clinton 51.6% to Sanders 48.3%.

The former secretary of state looks to be building a wider margin in the key Clark County, home to Las Vegas and most of Nevada’s population. But because the Nevada system splits delegates – a few precincts coming down to obscure tiebreaker rules involving a deck of cards – the state may turn out to have no clear winner, much like the Iowa caucuses earlier this month.

Updated

Democracy in action in Reno, Nevada, where supporters of Clinton and Sanders are trying to lure undecided voters to their candidate.

The undecided: “You can propose these great ideas but if you can’t get the backing behind it, I’m just saying…”

The Sanders-ista: “I think that our country is moving toward a more progressive direction … I don’t want to say that we’re leaving these other people behind, but…”

The Clinton-ite: “The right is getting much more right, and it’s honestly scary…”

In Las Vegas, Le Roy Graham and Linda Devaull-Graham are a house divided. He back Clinton, as he did in ’08. She backed Sanders and went with Obama eight years ago. They were voting inside a classroom at the Del Webb middle school, where they each attempted to win over supporters among the assembled caucus goes. Le Roy punted the line that Hilary can get things done.

“I’ve been watching Hillary since she was first lady, first lady of Arkansas,” he said. “She always stood up for people. She was arguing for Obamacare under Bill Clinton’s administration. In a perfect world, Bernie would be the candidate but I don’t think he’s electable.”

His wife leapt in: “That’s what he said about Obama. He wasn’t electable!”

Her husband had to concede the point. But when it came to the vote, Clinton knocked Sanders out of the water: Linda was one of just three voters who backed him in the classroom. Clinton won 24.

In Reno the partisans for Clinton and Sanders are working over the few undecided voters.

Updated

More than a quarter of the precincts results in Nevada are now in. What do we know? At the moment, not enough, except that this is already starting to feel like a repeat of Iowa, where Clinton and Sanders were in effect tied.

The former secretary of state and the Vermont senator are neck-and-neck. A lot can and will change as the remaining results start coming in, and it may be that either Clinton or Sanders pull ahead, but it is maybe worth pondering what a close race means.

The answer: good for Sanders. This was a state Clinton’s campaign thought she’d win off the back of minority voters (they form close to half of Nevada’s population – quite unlike predominantly white Iowa and New Hampshire).

Polling in the state is notoriously unreliable, but just a few months back the surveys were indicating Clinton had a huge lead over her insurgent challenger. On the basis of what we’ve seen so far, that is no longer the case.

Updated

Nevada is still absolutely nailbiting as results trickle in.

With 32% of precincts reporting, Hillary Clinton leads Bernie Sanders by the barest of margins - 51.66% to 48.24%.

It’s still anyone’s game at this point.

Updated

Caucusing is still very much ongoing in Reno, reports Sam Levin:

At the University of Nevada Reno site, where many students are registering for the first time to participate in the caucus, organizers briefly ran out of English-language forms.

That meant non-Spanish speakers had to use Spanish language forms to sign up, causing a bit of confusion and forcing some Spanish speakers to help translate.

After a short period, however, the site got more documents in English.

“We’ve got a resupply of English forms - so we are good now,” a Democratic Party representative told the Guardian just now.

It’s been a very slow start here - with the organizers still processing voters two hours after the official start time.

Interesting: a precinct in Pahrump has been decided by cutting the deck:

Hillary has had some pretty unbelievable luck with tiebreaks so far this election cycle.

This factoid, from MSNBC’s Ari Melber, could spell bad news for Hillary Clinton - first time caucus-goers are more likely to be for Bernie:

Updated

Just in from Chris McGreal: the full results from the caucus at Del Webb school in Las Vegas:

Lots of caucuses are delayed, however.

In Reno, Sam Levin reports that, after a long wait, the caucus he’s at is finally ready to begin:

Results are starting to dribble in

With 13.5% of precincts reporting, Bernie Sanders is the merest whisker ahead of Hillary Clinton, on 50.31% to Clinton’s 49.37%.

But there’s still a long way to go yet.

Updated

Some glimmers of good news for Hillary, though, if this from PBS’s Jon Ralston is true:

Perhaps the Will Ferrell endorsement helped?

Hillary Clinton wins in Caesars Palace.

She won in one round; 190-81, Maria La Ganga reports.

Here’s the scene:

Hillary wins Caesar’s Palace

Again, it’s worth noting that this may not be a representative caucus. Proceed with caution.

Updated

Caucusing at Caesars Palace! Footage just in from Maria shows the caucus-goers breaking into their groups:

“Hillary group boisterous,” Maria reports.

Meanwhile, Chris McGreal reports that Hillary Clinton won where he is on the first round:

In one classroom the first round of voting was overwhelmingly for Clinton - 24 to 3. That meant Sanders did not have enough votes for it to go to a second round.

Again, do bear in mind that these are just individual results at individual caucus sites. We won’t have a clear sense of who the victor will be for a little while yet.

Hillary Clinton looks set to win the caucus at Caesars Palace, Maria La Ganga reports. She says we’ll “know in a few.”

Chris McGreal, too, reporting that, at his precinct, Clinton seems set to win as well.

It’s worth noting that one shouldn’t read too much into these two precincts just yet, though.

Updated

NBC News has conducted an “exit poll” - by which they presumably mean entrance poll, since caucusing is still going on right now – which finds that Sanders leads Clinton by an astonishing 83% to 13% among young voters.

Meanwhile, Clinton leads Sanders by an almost equally commanding distance - 68% to 29% - among the over-65s.

Sanders leads among self-described “liberals” while Clinton leads among self-described “moderates.”

Clinton leads among veteran caucus-goers; while first-time caucus-goers lean Bernie.

There’s a lot to go into, and you can read the full results here.

Updated

Also worth noting, via Chris McGreal, that senator Harry Reid’s sunglasses game is, as always, entirely on fleek:

We’ve just put up this gallery of pictures from the Nevada caucuses – worth checking out.

A US Secret Service agent provides security for Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders
A US Secret Service agent provides security for Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders Photograph: Jim Young/Reuters

Updated

There are 10 precincts voting at Del Webb middle school in Henderson, southeast Las Vegas, reports Chris McGreal.

That is several hundred people divided between the cafeteria, gym and several classrooms. But the process of registration has been so slow, with long lines in the sun, that the start of the caucus has been delayed by about an hour.

This, from Sam, is the crowd at the University of Nevada caucus site in Reno.

He has also tracked down one of Hillary’s few supporters there: Nancy Teutle, 21, a student studying pre-law.

She just fights for everything I believe in - equal pay, immigration reform. She honestly inspired me to pursue my dream of being an immigration lawyer. She’s come so far in life and she’s fought so much, for children’s rights, for families.

I’m not surprised there are so many [Sanders’ supporters] here. It’s a college campus and he’s going to get a lot of college supporters.

She’s doing her best to reach younger voters, but Bernie mentioned free tuition and I think it’s kind of a grasp. Hillary is saying she can lower costs and I think it’s more reasonable ... She has supporters in the senate and can actually make things happen. I have a goddaughter – and for her to be able to grow up and see that a woman, a female, is president, that is going to change her life.

Updated

In dribs and drabs, caucusing begins in Nevada

...though long lines at various precincts mean that many are still waiting.

Yvanna Cancela, the political director of the hugely influential Culinary Worker’s union 226, is also at Caesar’s Palace.

She is tweeting that management have told workers not to worry about being back at work on time if the process runs over:

A quick word about tiebreakers.

In Iowa, six precincts were tied between Hillary and Bernie, and needed to be resolved by the flip of a coin (all of which Hillary won, a statistical improbability of fascinating proportions).

In Nevada – fittingly – a tie is not broken by the flip of a coin; instead, it is done by cutting a deck of cards; high card wins.

For those not familiar with the order, the highest suit is Spades followed by Hearts, then Diamonds, then Clubs.

Which means, if it’s as close as the polls are predicting, the Nevada results could come down to this:

Good luck getting this song out of your head now

Updated

The situation appears to be deteriorating even further at Caesars Palace.

Caucus-goers are beginning to file into the room, reports Maria:

But the delays, caused by the duelling supporters outside, could be problematic. Casino workers, many of whom are on their break from work, might have difficulty staying to the end if the caucus overruns. If they don’t stay to the end, their vote doesn’t count.

Updated

Signs that you are not in a normal city on caucus day:

  • The line to get in to the caucus site is a velvet rope more suited to debauchery than democracy.
  • Enroute to meeting their fellow Nevadans to pick a Democratic nominee for president, caucus goers can knock back a mojito or play a hand of poker.

In reality, however, caucus-goers at the Caesars Palace precinct on the Las Vegas strip are more likely to have swabbed toilets, made beds and fried eggs for strangers before standing up for a candidate they hope might make their lives better.

Saturday morning, the hallway into the Caesars ballroom precinct was choked with working men and women in bright white chef jackets and the somber uniforms of hotel housekeepers.

They shouted “Feel the Bern!” And “Hillary! Hillary! Hillary!” They waved red white and blue posters. They carried box lunches. They were on their way to work or heading home at the end of a shift.

Rhett Barham, a dealer at the Caesars casino, was ready to cast her lot with the Bernie Sanders, the firebrand senator from Vermont.

“I’m a dreamer and I believe in his dream,” she said as she signed in. “I like his concepts of trying to make everything better. Some kids drop out of school. How many people want to be a doctor and can’t afford it?

“We pay for people to be in jail for drugs,” Barham, who lives in Henderson, continued, “instead of us helping them and rehabilitating them. That’s not solving the problem.”
Gripping an American flag and a “Women for Hillary” sign, Morena De Cid smiled broadly as she waited behind the velvet ropes to caucus. She had a blue Hillary Clinton sticker on her brown housekeeper’s uniform. She has lived in Las Vegas for 35 years and cleans the casino at Bellagio.

“It’s time for a change,” De Cid said. “Like Germany, Brazil, Margaret Thatcher. [Clinton] knows what she’s doing. She’s a very smart lady. We need her for education, immigration, health care, and, you know, social security. We need to have it for longer.”

Updated

And meanwhile, up in Reno, Sam Levin has spoken to young voters waiting to caucus - most are students at the University of Nevada, and most are strongly for Sanders.

Chenay Arberry, 23, Reno resident, recent graduate, black and Vietnamese, does outreach work for the Sanders campaign, voting for Sanders: “I would love to see a lot more discussions around Native American awareness. They are a minority that is very often ignored ... There are a lot of tribes that need support.”
Robin Rowell, 20, student in Reno studying microbiology, Asian and white, voting for Sanders: “I really want to hear specifics on the women’s rights movement. I want to hear real plans on wage inequality. I want to hear how we will really determine what the differences are and see a rise in pay for women. I feel like it’s something that should be disclosed and discussed upfront in jobs – who is making what and why are women making less money for the same work?”
Idalis Figueroa, 18, Reno student from Las Vegas, studying political science, Mexican, voting for Clinton. One of the only visible Clinton supporters here: “I’m voting for Hillary because she is the first woman to step up. I think women and family values are so important to her and she’s fought for them her whole life. I really care about immigration and I want to hear specifics about reform. I want to hear about reforms that are realistic – not Trump talking about building a wall.”
Jibrael Bushongo, 18, student, African American, voting for Bernie, in the military – national guard. “I want to hear about repurposing the budget ... and defunding the military. Yes, I’m in the military, but I think it can be defunded. ... Funding needs to go to education, social security. I think there are places in the budget where that money could be better spent – science, technology, health care, education are all important.”

Updated

Delays already at the caucus where Chris McGreal is reporting:

And more from the tumultuous lobby of Caesar’s Palace, where Maria La Ganga is watching duelling groups of Clinton and Sanders supporters competing for who can shout the loudest:

Veni, Vidi, Clamaverunt.

Updated

More from Chris McGreal, at the Del Webb Middle School in Las Vegas, where Harry Reid is on the scene:

Chris asked him why he is voting “uncommitted.” His response:

Everyone knows the caucus set up in Nevada was my doing. I wanted to make sure both Clinton and Sanders know that I’ve been fair. If I got involved on one side or the other it would be easy for them to say that’s going to affect the contest unfairly. So this is the best way to do it.

However, Chris reports that Reid did say that he will endorse a candidate in due course – although he declined to say when.

Updated

Sam Levin files this report from Reno, where some Republicans are outraged at reports that GOP activists were encouraging Republican voters to register for the Democratic caucus on Saturday and participate in both parties’ elections. (The Nevada caucuses, for Republicans, are on Tuesday).

The University of Nevada Reno College Republicans recently pointed out a loophole allowing for same-day Democratic registration, meaning a GOP voter could technically caucus on Saturday and again on Tuesday for the Republican election.

“Asking individuals to participate in both is not a normal activity but it is also not illegal; nobody will get arrested,” Miranda Hoover, president of the student GOP group, said in a statement.

Don Dike-Anukam, a student who is a member of the university Republicans group, though is not currently active, said he was dismayed that anyone would even raise the idea. “It’s insulting to the American electorate and the height of mean-spirited, hyper-partisan BS,” he said. “This is why people have lost faith in politics.”

Dike-Anukam, who is also a member of the Washoe County Republican party central committee, said he hopes no GOP voters try to participate in both caucuses and said they should be held accountable if they do. “I hope if someone attempts to do it, they are prosecuted to the full extent of the law. We can’t go around talking about the integrity of the elections and then propose voter fraud.”

He also said he expects they would get caught. “I think the [district attorney] takes these kinds of things very seriously.”

Election officials have said they are aware of the reports and are monitoring the situation. Democratic leaders said that voting twice would be illegal and possibly constitute a felony.

Some Republican leaders have condemned the idea, too. “I believe that if we participate to intentionally affect the results of the Democratic nomination, then we are ultimately losing the very freedoms that caused many of our parents and grandparents to come to this country,” Adam Khan, chairman of the Washoe County Republican Party, said in an email to constituents.

Dike-Anukam said he worried the controversy would tarnish the reputation of the party. “This is why people don’t like politics,” he said, adding, “Most Republicans are decent people.”

US editor Lee Glendinning filmed a this clip of the embattled Jeb! Bush speculating about his South Carolina prospects:

Jeb!

And this, of the former Florida governor discussing the dangers of Donald Trump:

Jeb!

Updated

Maria La Ganga is on-site at the glamorous Caesar’s Palace hotel and casino, where Sanders and Hillary supporters are beginning to file in to caucus:

At Caesars Palace

The process does not appear to be entirely peaceful, as Clinton and Sanders supporters clash loudly in the lobby. Maria captured this footage:

So much for the Pax Romana!

Updated

In Greenville, South Carolina, where the crucial Republican primary is also taking place today, the Guardian’s Matt Sullivan has spoken with “R”, who is that rarest of beasts; a Rubio voter but a fan of Bernie Sanders:

I voted today because I don’t want Donald Trump to win. I actually took one of those online tests and came up like 91% Bernie. I consider myself an independent - a pro-life independent, but pretty liberal - except I’m trying to be strategic about it. I mean, Trump? He just seems crazy.”

I didn’t vote in 2012, or 2008. I might have voted maybe once when I was 18 and one other time. ... I came one time and played kickball outside but I never went in to vote.”

But I just don’t agree with any of the stuff that Trump is saying. I watched all of the Republican debates and a lot if it was just disconcerting - it seems like when you’re threatening to kill large groups of people, something isn’t right.

I never really have felt like I have known about politics or cared enough to make an informed decision. But the more that I learn, the more dangerous I think that is.

I think if I learned more about Bernie Sanders, I might really disagree with him, but maybe I need to learn a little bit more.

I don’t even think I actually agree with everything Rubio says, but I think he has the best chance here in South Carolina and in the actual election against Hillary. I thought about voting for a Democrat, but my husband told me, ‘No way.’ ... I just think it’s kind of crazy that Donald Trump could be president. I figured it would just go away.

An issue that matters to her: “If I am pro-life, then I think that matters to who I’m voting for, but the political machine and the system have turned it into this whole thing that HILLARY IS KILLING BABIES. And I don’t think it’s about that - I don’t think we should be funding abortions, but it’s gotten blown out of proportion.”

Some good news and some bad news for the Hillary Clinton campaign.

The good news is that actor Will Ferrell, whom the Sanders campaign has previously listed as a supporter, has switched sides – releasing this campaign video where he urges Nevadans to caucus for Clinton:

The bad news is that Senate minority leader and Nevada political royal Harry Reid, who is very close to Clinton personally, appears to be on the fence about who to caucus for.

...though it’s possible Reid is just keeping schtum so as to avoid accusations of bias.

In any event, our very own Chris McGreal is on the scene at the school where Reid is set to caucus, so he’ll keep us updated as that story develops.

Updated

Hello and welcome to Las Vegas

Because Vegas
Neon lights on Las Vegas Strip at dusk Photograph: Eleanor Scriven/Robert Hardi/REX

I’m Nicky Woolf, and I’ll be your guide to the Nevada caucuses during the day as Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders go head-to-head in this crucial, first-in-the-west state.

Later on, my colleague Scott Bixby will take over from South Carolina, where the Republicans are fighting tooth and nail. But first things first: Nevada.

On the ground we have a veritable dream team of reporters: Maria La Ganga and Chris McGreal will be bringing you on-the-spot coverage from caucus sites in Las Vegas, where we also have Paul Lewis and columnist Richard Wolffe; and Sam Levin will be bringing you all the caucus news you could want from Reno.

The big question today of course is: can Bernie Sanders upset Hillary Clinton’s much-vaunted “Nevada Firewall”?

The former secretary of state has been losing ground fast to the Vermont senator; the Real Clear Politics polling average puts them almost neck-and-neck, with 48.7 percent for Hillary and 46.3 percent for Sanders.

Will Nevada feel the Bern? Or will HRC prevail? Stay tuned to find out.

Updated

In North Charleston, Lee Glendinning has met with more Republican voters who’ve just cast ballots – occasionally with canine companions.

Susan Bauer.
Susan Bauer. Photograph: Guardian

Susan Bauer, 36, says she cares about immigration “more than anything”.

“I just don’t think I should have to support illegal immigration. If you come to this country I think you should do it in the right way, and that’s what bothers me the most and what I want addressed in this campaign.”

Brenda Schoolfield, a clerk for precinct and professor of History and Anthropology at Bob Jones University

Originally from Baltimore, Schoolfield lives in Greenville. She wouldn’t say, as clerk, whom she voted for, but she voted absentee: “I want every election to be fair, free and legal.”

“We’ve had a little more than 400 come in so far... as far as I can remember, in 2008 we had about 350 come in over the whole day, so we’re definitely at least a little ahead of that pace. I’ve been working as a clerk since after the 2000 election - I didn’t want Greenville County to look like Dade County [Florida].”

Adam Radcliff, 33, of Greenville, says he voted for John Kasich.

“He’s the establishment guy with momentum - it was between him and Rubio, and I think Rubio’s going to be the one to pull it off in the end, but Kasich has the conservative track record, and he seems to be staying out of the mud... The hug moment, I think, endeared him to a lot of voters who didn’t know who he was beforehand.”

And in the line to vote, one South Carolinian wears his political loyalties on his sleeve sweatshirt. Dogs 2016.

Dog loving voters in South Carolina
Dog loving voters in South Carolina Photograph: Guardian

Updated

Adam Gabbatt has snuck a question in for former Florida governor Jeb Bush in North Charleston, South Carolina: “Governor, would you consider being Donald Trump’s vice president?”

Bush’s answer gets a laugh.

Bush did go on to comment a bit on the Trump phenomenon, with Guardian US editor Lee Glendinning on hand to record the answer.

“He’s gonna do well,” Bush said – before adding that a Trumpian nomination “would guarantee a defeat for the conservative cause.”

Updated

Purported trickery in Nevada have raised hackles, Sam Levin reports from Reno.

Some Republicans in Reno, Nevada are outraged at reports that GOP activists were encouraging Republican voters to register for the Democratic caucus on Saturday and participate in both parties’ elections.

The University of Nevada Reno College Republicans recently pointed out a loophole allowing for same-day Democratic registration, meaning a GOP voter could technically caucus on Saturday and again on Tuesday for the Republican election.

“Asking individuals to participate in both is not a normal activity but it is also not illegal; nobody will get arrested,” Miranda Hoover, president of the student GOP group, said in a statement.

Don Dike-Anukam
Don Dike-Anukam Photograph: Guardian

Don Dike-Anukam, a student a member of the university Republicans group, said he was dismayed that anyone would even raise the idea. “It’s insulting to the American electorate and the height of mean-spirited, hyper-partisan BS,” he said. “This is why people have lost faith in politics.”

Dike-Anukam, who is also a member of the Washoe County Republican party central committee, said he hopes no GOP voters try to participate in both caucuses and said they should be held accountable if they do.

“I hope if someone attempts to do it, they are prosecuted to the full extent of the law. We can’t go around talking about the integrity of the elections and then propose voter fraud.”

He also said he expects they would get caught. “I think the [district attorney] takes these kinds of things very seriously.”

Election officials have said they are aware of the reports and are monitoring the situation. Democratic leaders said that voting twice would be illegal and possibly constitute a felony.

Some Republican leaders have condemned the idea, too. “I believe that if we participate to intentionally affect the results of the Democratic nomination, then we are ultimately losing the very freedoms that caused many of our parents and grandparents to come to this country,” Adam Khan, chairman of the Washoe County Republican Party, said in an email to constituents.

Dike-Anukam said he worried the controversy would tarnish the reputation of the party. “This is why people don’t like politics,” he said, adding, “Most Republicans are decent people.”

Updated

Some unsolicited fashion advice for Jeb Bush, courtesy Amber Jamieson and a style consultant who advises politicians and business execs about looks that work.

Are glasses so undesirable that they could mean political death?

Contacts.
Jeb. Photograph: Erik S. Lesser/EPA

Jeb Bush seems to think so, having ditched his glasses this week in a mid-election campaign makeover. His opponent Donald Trump quickly cast an insult in Bush’s direction: “He wants to look cool, but it’s far too late.”

The problem isn’t so much the spectacles alone but Bush’s style of suburban dad frames, said style consultant Sylvie di Guisto, of Executive Image Consulting.


“Those glasses show zero personality,” di Guisto said.

“If you just choose some frameless glasses, some average glasses anyone could have, it accentuates the fact that people criticize him as being colorless, without any personality, not standing out.”

Wearing glasses is “an instrument for us to make people look smarter. In this campaign, knowledge is not the focus,” she said.

Just last October, Bush criticized the consultants encouraged him to lose the goggles.

“I can’t see without glasses. I’m not going to take off my stinkin’ glasses,” he told a rally in Lebanon, New Hampshire. “I think I look pretty damn good.”

But after finishing fourth in last week’s New Hampshire primary with just 11% of the vote, Bush’s campaign evidently decided he needed to look better.

Glasses.
Glasses. Photograph: Chris Keane/Reuters

“Rule No 1: avoid distraction for any price,” di Giusto said. “Because you want to be known for your skills, for your excellence, for your knowledge, for the amazing things you can do for the United States, for the person you are. If people remember you for something you are wearing, you did something wrong.”

However, to help brighten up Bush’s flailing political campaign, a pair of cooler frames could help.

“Accessories are terribly important for a man. Basically, there are not a lot of options, other than a navy or charcoal suit … glasses give a chance to see someone’s personality and character.”

Di Giusto had some possible new looks for Bush, which you can check out/judge/critique through the link below.

Updated

In Prosperity, South Carolina, population approximately 1,200, Matt Sullivan and Scott Bixby have met a few more voters leaving the polls.

Angie Garner.
Angie Garner. Photograph: Guardian

Angie Garner, 46, said that she’s most concerned about the economy and immigration. She voted for Donald Trump.

“Well, there’s the economy, of course, and immigration – there’s a whole lot to talk about there. … And they’re taking away far too many things Americans can’t get for themselves because they’re given to illegal immigrants: things for families, veterans, young people, old people, the disabled.

“I don’t mind if anyone’s gonna enjoy those freedoms, as long as they’re here legally.”

Susan and Jamie Johnson, who work for the Department of Transportation. They voted for Ted Cruz.

Jamie: “We considered Trump, but the more we saw, the less we liked. Cruz aligns better with our values. He’s a Christian.”

Susan: “He aligned with everything.”

Susan and Jamie
Susan and Jamie Johnson. Photograph: Guardian

Updated

Trump questions Obama's faith

“No leader, especially a religious leader, has the right to question another man’s religion or faith,” Donald Trump preached to the masses earlier this week.

But memory is a fickle thing.

Obama paid respects to the Antonin Scalia yesterday, alongside hundreds of mourners who lined up to honor the late supreme court justice. Donald Trump is not at the funeral. Ted Cruz, who argued before the court several times, is in attendance in Washington DC.

Updated

Bernie Sanders channels Steve Coogan channeling a warrior trying to plan for breakfast. Two hours till caucus time.

Updated

Lee Glendinning and Adam Gabbatt are at a polling booth in the town of Harleyville, South Carolina, population approximately 700, and not far from an African Methodist Episcopal camp meeting that’s on the national register of historic places.

Alan Hay, 72, says he’s most concerned about the country’s safety and its debt.

Alan Hay
Alan Hay Photograph: Guardian

“The biggest thing that I want candidates to address comes down to national security for one, and then the tremendous debt we are experiencing in this country. Both of these things need to be addressed immediately. We can’t keep just letting this debt grow.

“I’ve got children and grandchildren and I’m really concerned about my grandchildren’s future being free from debt and the financial status of the United States right now.”

Gene Grimsley, 56, is a worker who handles coal shipments at a power plant. He voted for Donald Trump: “I don’t believe in career politicians. That’s more or less destroyed this country.

“Trump can better organise the spending of our money. I believe people should work for what they got, there shouldn’t be free handouts. I’m all for helping people and giving them a boost, training, but you can’t just give them handouts.”

Grimsley said he’s concerned about three pillars of the conservative base.

Immigration: “We need to do something in this country to stop illegal immigrants coming in.”

The second amendment: “They don’t need to take our guns because guns is what made this country. I carry a gun all the time.”

And land: “This ain’t the government’s land. This is god’s land. God gave it to us,.”

Grimsley, of Haryeyville.
Grimsley, of Haryeyville. Photograph: Guardian

Updated

More voter profiles from Chapin, South Carolina, where Scott Bixby is meeting the men and women casting ballots for their Republican of choice.

Mark
Mark Photograph: the Guardian

Mark Rushton, 56, voted for Donald Trump.

“All the politicians are lining their pockets – Trump’s got his own pockets. We need an Operation: Clean Sweep – line up all the politicians after two terms and get rid of ‘em. Think about it!”

Jason R.”Way too old”, a sales engineer, voted for Ted Cruz.

“I like Trump, but he acts like an ass. All politicians are filth, but Cruz is the lesser of all the evils. He’s a criminal like the rest of ‘em, but you gotta vote.”

Jane and Bob
Jane and Bob Photograph: Guardian

Bob and Jane, a 70-year-old Bell South employee and a 69-year-old retired teacher respectively, voted for Trump and Jeb Bush.

Jean, upon finding out her husband voted for Trump: “You did not!”

Bob: “We didn’t talk about it!”

Jean: “I’m a retired teacher, and I think that Bush is the best for education, which nobody seems to talk about too much this year.”

Bob: “Political correctness is dooming this country. They all take money from outsiders, and Donald Trump has his own money.”

Jean
Jean Photograph: Guardian

Jean, 86, a retired co-owner of a concrete pipe company, said her vote is ”between me and the machine”

“If I don’t vote, I can’t complain – and I love to complain!”

Updated

“This whole city’s built on greed – the idea you can win big,” Las Vegas hotel worker Craig Johnson told my colleague Chris McGreal this week, as the pair mused about why Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders have found surprisingly common ground in Nevada. “Wall Street is the house, and it always wins.”

Among Democratic Nevadans, Sanders’ charge that the crisis was the result of Wall Street running a casino economy appeared to have more resonance than Hillary Clinton’s more cautious promise of federal assistance for those who were worst hit. It may explain, in part, why Clinton is facing a tight race in a state she had been expected to win easily.

Toward the end of Brown Street, a foreclosed house is being refurbished for sale. Victor Rodriguez is working on the kitchen. He’s 34 and was born in Mexico City but is a naturalised American citizen. He said there is no way he is voting for Trump.

“That guy’s a fucking idiot. To be honest with you, I’d be an idiot too if I had his kind of money. I don’t want him to be president of my country. If he becomes president, I’m going back to where I came from,” Rodriguez said.

But Trump’s assertion that the root cause is the collapse of American manufacturing, and that when jobs go so does Las Vegas’s tourist-driven economy, plays well with some Republican voters.

Bill Tanna, 60, had retired but was forced back to work when the stock market crash wiped out most of his retirement fund and property investments collapsed.

This has led him down the path to Trump. Tanna ticked off a familiar list of reasons: Trump’s “not a true politician” and represents “a big change”. But the key attraction is that the New York entrepreneur “will bring business back”.

“We need to start manufacturing like we did in the 50s and 60s. We don’t manufacture anything anymore,” he said.

Voter profiles in Chapin, South Carolina, where Matt Sullivan and Scott Bixby are meeting people at the polls.

David Pyle, 67, a data contractor from Chapin.

Voted for: Trump.

An issue that affects his life: “I care about just about all the things that Trump stands for: success, hard work and business.

David Pyle
David Pyle Photograph: The Guardian

“Where I was working before, business ended contracts and it was because they didn’t know what the Obama administration was gonna do – Obamacare, executive orders, all of it. I just became employed again, and I voted for Romney last time, but my wife and I are both for Trump this year.”

Kathy M, 43, who drove a Harley in from Chapin, South Carolina

Voted for: Trump

An issue that affects her life: “Our safety. I just don’t believe it’s in Obama’s interest. He’s a Muslim. I just thought that from the beginning, and he hasn’t been able to prove where he’s from. His interest is in himself.”

Ernest Giardino, 58, also of Chapin

An issue that affects his life: “I’m a Christian guy, so I wish there were more people talking to me as a Christian. I’m having a lot of issues with funding Planned Parenthood.

“I think there enough places that are doing that kind of work - Christian places - that we don’t need government funding going to it. Abortion is not just a primary issue; this has been an issue for a long time, and we spend millions of dollars on it.

*This has nothing to do with men or women – it’s a government issue.”

Two months into 2016 and the presidential campaigns have littered half-truths, sophistry, nonsense, trick phone calls, fake voter violations, lies, made-up numbers, poor photoshop skills and ads about the US that show entirely different countries. So why not throw in an urban legend of the first world war? Ben Jacobs investigates.

In his final campaign rally before the South Carolina primary, Donald Trump repeated an urban legend about John Pershing, the commander of the American Expeditionary Forces in the first world war, committing war crimes while serving in the Philippines. Trump seemed to endorse these actions as well.

Pershing.
Pershing. Photograph: Corbis

Trump claimed that Pershing summarily executed “50 terrorists”. In the real estate mogul’s telling, “they were having terrorism problems just like we do. And he caught 50 terrorists who did tremendous damage and killed many people. And he took the 50 terrorists, and he took 50 men, and he dipped 50 bullets in pig’s blood.”

According to Trump, Pershing then “had his men load his rifles and he lined up the 50 people, and they shot 49 of those people. And the 50th person he said: you go back to your people and you tell them what happened.”

The story seems to stem from Pershing’s stint commanding an American garrison in the Philippines where he helped put down a rebellion in the Muslim region of Mindanao from 1909-1913.

Despite Trump’s pledge that “this is something you can read in the history books,” the story has been thoroughly debunked by the myth-busting website Snopes. Pershing’s tenure in Mindanao was marked by his comparative tolerance of Islam and his appointment of Muslims to serve under him as deputy district governors. The legend seems to derive from the long, sporadic war between the US army and pro-independence Filipinos, as well as a 1939 film starring Gary Cooper about that era.

Trump told attendees that the (false) story had a lesson: “we better start getting tough and we better start getting vigilant, and we better start using our heads or we’re not gonna have a country.”

Updated

“Is this Bernie Sanders being arrested?” film-makers have asked, and they have an answer, though some context’s needed first.

This week civil rights and took center stage in the Democratic race, with Bernie Sanders meeting prominent black Americans and Hillary Clinton winning the endorsement of yet other major figures of the civil rights movement. One of those figures, Georgia representative John Lewis, suggested last week that amid the 1960s struggle for equal rights, Bernie Sanders was not around.

“I never saw him,” Lewis said at a press conference endorsement of Clinton. “I never met him.”

Lewis later downplayed his remarks, saying he did not mean “to disparage his activism”. A few days later, documentary maker Kartemquin Films uploaded footage that appears to show Sanders being arrested at race protests in Chicago in 1963. Mother Jones unearthed a Chicago Tribune story from 1964 that noted “Bernard Sanders, 21” among the people arrested and fined.

On Friday, according to the film-makers, the campaign confirmed that a Chicago Tribune photo of officers hauling off a man does in fact depict Sanders on the day of his arrest.

Updated

The road to Donald Trump’s victory in New Hampshire – and predicted victory in South Carolina – was long and made possible by decades of growing inequality, simmering anger at career politicians, and, by novelist Adam Haslett’s estimation, the Georges Bush.

The Bushes have long been aristocrats with knives in their pockets. In politics since the 1950s and in the White House for 16 of the last 28 years, this dynastic family embodies more than any other the transformation of the Republican party from a coalition of north-eastern social liberals and economic elites to one of southern, religious conservatives and free-market extremists.

Along this path came the willingness to employ – always at arm’s length – not only the kind of racially charged demagoguery that Trump brandishes openly, but the staging of false controversy for political gain that is the real estate executive’s modus operandi.

It is not just the Republican party’s general extremism that has created such a vast public space for a demagogue to fill. The Bush family’s political behavior, in all its disdainful violence, prepared the way for Trump. The difference being that where the Bushes used henchmen, Trump is his own – and all the more effective for it.

You can read Haslett’s entire study on the tactics of the Bushes and their allies through the link below.

Updated

Interactive editor Nadja Popovich takes a look at whether history is any guide to the Nevada caucus, the South Carolina primary and the ultimate nominations for the Democratic and Republican parties.

Past winners
Nevada

South Carolina’s primary day gets off to a civil start.

Hello and welcome to our live-wire coverage of the Nevada caucuses and South Carolina primary elections, the respective contests for Democrats and Republicans competing for their parties’ nominations for the White House.

In Nevada it’s Bernie Sanders vs Hillary Clinton, and in South Carolina it’s Donald Trump vs a small battalion of Republicans: Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, John Kasich and Ben Carson.

Caucusing kicks off in Nevada 11am local time, and the first results should arrive in the afternoon. (A handy refresher on caucuses, courtesy the Guardian’s video team, is available here.) Poll averages show Sanders and Clinton neck-and-neck in Nevada, 47% to 50.5% … though Nevada polls are notoriously unreliable.

Voting in South Carolina will carry on until polls close at 7pm local time – with results landing in the hours afterward. Trump has a healthy lead of 33.9% , per state poll averages, followed by a rising Cruz (19.3%) and Rubio (15.9%).

There’s no dearth of drama. Trump got into a fight with Pope Francis. Cruz got into a fight with Rubio about photoshopping and trickery. Bush got another Bush to emerge from hiding. Kasich got a hug. Cruz got threatened with a lawsuit by Trump, who also called for a boycott of Apple products, because “How do you like that? I just thought of that!”

Nor is all quiet in Nevada. Sanders has drawn thousands to events in Las Vegas, and won a new cognomen from Hispanic voters: “el Viejito” (the little oldie). Clinton has refused to be outdone: before impressive audiences she has barked in imitation of a dog, won the endorsement of famed civil rights leaders and earned the admiration of a group calling itself “Hookers for Hillary”.

The Nevada sex workers who are supporting Hillary Clinton.

It’s round three of the 2016 primary race, then, and as usual a crack crew of Guardian reporters is on the ground.

Adam Gabbatt is in South Carolina mingling with Republican voters; Ben Jacobs and Sabrina Siddiqui will be trailing the campaigns; and Scott Bixby will helm the live blog of late results from Columbia. Nicky Woolf will attend to the Nevada blog duties from the glimmer and grunge of Las Vegas, while Maria L La Ganga, Sam Levin, Paul Lewis and Chris McGreal chase Sanders and Clinton as they chase caucusers around the state. Guardian US columnist Richard Wolffe is in Sin City as well, while Jeb Lund and Megan Carpentier will keep an eye on the Donald doing what he does best: trying to win.

Updated

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Saturday Night Live UK Was Absolutely Filthy-Mouthed, And I Learned This The Hard Way
Live from my couch... it's another lesson in parenting!
Cinemablend
Cinemablend
AI “Fruit Love Island” TikTok account rants after viral videos get mass removed
TikTok has removed viral AI-generated videos from the popular 'Fruit Love Island' series, sparking creator outrage and fan discussions. The account, which amassed millions of followers rapidly, saw numerous high-view videos taken down, reportedly due to mass reporting and being labeled 'AI slop.' This incident highlights platforms' struggles with moderating…
The Times of India
The Times of India
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