BREAKING NEWS - McCain Wins South Carolina - AP calls it!

McCain Wins South Carolina

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jld3VILFDbEY6uciu_lp_YgBnGqwD8U9AVT00

6 minutes ago

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) —

Sen. John McCain won the South Carolina primary Saturday night, avenging a bitter personal defeat in a bastion of conservatism and gaining ground in an unpredictable battle for the Republican presidential nomination.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

Democrats Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama split the spoils Saturday in Nevada presidential caucuses marred by late charges of dirty politics. John McCain and Mike Huckabee dueled for victory in a hard-fought Republican primary in South Carolina.

"This is one step on a long journey," Clinton told cheering supporters in Las Vegas. She captured the popular vote, but Obama edged her out for national convention delegates at stake, taking 13 to her 12.

Obama issued a statement that said he had conducted an "honest, uplifting campaign ... that appealed to people's hopes instead of their fears."

If the Democrats had co-front-runners, the Republicans had none, and looked to the first southern state primary to begin winnowing an unwieldy field.

With returns from nearly two-thirds of the precincts counted, McCain was winning about 34 percent of the vote and Huckabee had about 29 percent. Fred Thompson was in a struggle for third place with about 16 percent, after saying he needed a strong showing to sustain his candidacy. Another Republican, California Rep. Duncan Hunter, dropped out even before the votes were tallied.

Interviews with South Carolina voters leaving their polling places indicated that McCain, an Arizona senator, and Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor, were dividing the Republican vote evenly. As was his custom, McCain was winning the votes of self-described independents.

South Carolina was the second half of a campaign double-header for Republicans.

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Winner Candidate Votes Vote %

X John McCain - 126,349 - 33%

Mike Huckabee - 112,132 - 29%

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