COLUMBIA, S.C. -- John McCain and Hillary Clinton secured key victories yesterday as the 2008 presidential campaign headed south and west for the first time.
"Thank you, South Carolina," McCain said to chants of "Mac is Back" from supporters in Charleston. "You know, it took us a while, but what's eight years among friends?"
Joined onstage by his wife, Cindy, and his 95-year-old mother, Roberta, McCain thanked members of the state's Republican establishment, including Sen. Lindsey Graham, who were instrumental in his victory.
"For the last 28 years, the winner of the South Carolina primary has been the nominee of our party," said McCain, 71, who predicted that he would win Florida and be on his way to the nomination.
McCain redeemed himself in South Carolina, a state he lost eight years ago. He is positioned to become the favorite for the Republican nomination if he can win a four-way primary in Florida a week from Tuesday.
Mike Huckabee of Arkansas finished second in the first Southern contest despite an appeal to regional pride. Turnout by evangelical Christians was heavy, but their votes were split among several contenders.
In Nevada's caucuses, Clinton parlayed strong backing from women, Hispanics and older voters into a second straight win over Barack Obama, whose labor union supporters failed to deliver their members in large numbers.
Mitt Romney, the only major Republican contender to compete in Nevada, finished first in his party's caucuses.
"I guess this is how the West was won," Clinton, her voice raw from nonstop campaigning, told boisterous supporters in Las Vegas.
Clinton received the most precinct delegates at stake yesterday, but Obama claimed 13 national convention delegates to Clinton's 12. The actual selection of national delegates will take place at the state's Democratic convention in April.
The near-even split underscored the growing importance of delegate rules as the Democratic race becomes a two-person contest. Clinton and Obama have potent funding bases, making it likely that the campaign will extend beyond Super Tuesday to states such as Maryland, on Feb. 12, and for weeks after that.
Obama is favored to win the next Democratic primary, on Jan. 26 in South Carolina, where blacks are expected to account for half of the vote. The two parties are on separate tracks because of national party rules governing the primary calendar.
