South Carolina Primary: Big Win for McCain, Not so Good for Thompson

Among the heavy snow, rain, and sleet, voters still came out to the polls, but it was not the turnout some had hoped. John McCain took South Carolina over Mike Huckabee by a few percentage points. They outscored Fred Thompson and Mitt Romney, who both placed in a distant third and fourth. This was a major win for John McCain, but a devastating loss for Fred Thompson.

Here are the raw data: McCain attained thirty-three percent of the votes while Huckabee had only thirty percent. Thompson had roughly sixteen percent with just a small lead over Romney who had fifteen percent. But what does this mean for the candidates? This gives John McCain further momentum in the race to the nomination.

This was a huge win for him, which could propel him much further. Huckabee was hoping for a big win, but it proves he cannot just count on the Evangelical votes anymore. He needs to appeal to other voters, who do not share his same beliefs. Huckabee is already the underdog in this race and looks like it will remain that way for him.

Thompson, however, has been devastated by these primaries and caucuses. He has not even had a respectable finish in anyone of them. It seems like this will be the end of the road for him. For Romney, he had campaigned much more in Nevada than South Carolina. Romney did win in Nevada and is still definitely a contender for the nomination. But McCain is finishing strong and has more momentum then any of the Republican candidates.

For Rudy Giuliani, he only received two percent of the votes. His unique strategy of campaigning in Florida, could hurt him in the end. This strategy will ultimately make or break him. He did not campaign much at all in South Carolina. He has been weak in all of these primaries and caucuses, which does not bode well for him in the future. The bottom line is; big win for McCain and a farewell to Thompson.

"South Carolina Primary". http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/primaries/results/state/#SC. CNN