Donald Trump has moved closer to the Republican nomination for United States president, winning the party's South Carolina primary.
It was a less clear-cut win for leading Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton on the weekend, narrowly edging out rival Bernie Sanders in the state of Nevada.
It took around an hour for authorities to confirm real-estate mogul and reality television star Donald Trump had won the South Carolina Republican primary.
The 69-year-old Mr Trump took more than 30 per cent of votes, leaving senators Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio to fight for a distant second place.
Speaking afterwards, he reflected on his triumphant race so far.
"Okay, we go back to work tomorrow morning, tomorrow morning we'll be back, but I just want to congratulate the other candidates. There's nothing easy about running for president, I can tell you. It's tough, it's nasty, it's mean, it's vicious, it's beautiful. When you win, it's beautiful, and we're going to start, we are going to start winning for our country. We're going to start winning."
It is the second consecutive victory for the Trump campaign, after winning in the state of New Hampshire.
The billionaire businessman has deeply divided the Republican party.
He has stirred up controversy by refusing to take sides on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and responded sharply after Pope Francis called some of his political stances "un-Christian."
Importantly, a fourth-place finish was enough to convince the favourite of the Republican establishment, former Florida governor Jeb Bush, to drop out of the race.
Mr Bush, who had hoped to follow in the footsteps of his father and brother as president, urged voters to focus on candidates' policies over their presentation.
Perhaps coincidentally, he referenced reality television -- the show Survivor -- as he stepped out.
"I congratulate my competitors that are remaining on the island on their success for a race that has been hard-fought, just as the contest for the presidency should be, because it is a tough job. In this campaign, I've stood my ground, refusing to bend to the political winds. We put forward detailed, innovative, conservative plans to address the mounting challenges that we face, because, despite what you might have heard, ideas matter, policy matters."
In Nevada, Democrat Hillary Clinton celebrated an important win in that party's race, strengthening her status as frontrunner for the Democratic nomination.
She dedicated the success to her supporters.
"You know, I am so, so thrilled and so grateful to all of my supporters out there. Some may have doubted us, but we never doubted each other, and this one's for you. I want to congratulate Senator Sanders on a hard-fought race here, and I want to thank each and every one of you. You turned out in every corner of this state with determination and purpose."
The win gives the Clinton camp a much-needed confidence boost in the face of a strong challenge from rival Bernie Sanders.
Mr Sanders had hoped for a solid showing in the diversely populated state.
He blamed his loss on low voter numbers.
"Again, I wish we had had a larger voter turnout, but, by the way, we did phenomenally well with young people, I think we did well with working-class people. Remember, we were taking on a candidate who ran in 2008. She knew Nevada a lot better than we did -- she had the names of a lot of her supporters. So I'm proud of the campaign that we ran. Obviously, I wish we could have done a little bit better."
The candidates will now focus on "Super Tuesday" next month, where more than 10 states will hold a series of primaries.
Share
