A huge victory tonight for the McCain campaign as the Arizona Senator scored a win in the South Carolina Republican primary. Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee placed second. It’s still a fight for third place between Fred Thompson and Mitt Romney.
With 69% of the vote counted, McCain is holding steady with 34%. Huckabee trails with 30%, Thompson 16%, and Romney 15%. As this is a winner-take-all state, McCain will recieve all 24 of the state’s convention delegates. There is no prize for second place.
These numbers are terrible for Fred Thompson, who had essentially made the South Carolina primary the site of his last stand. Thompson pulled his entire staff from Washington and everywhere else and has focused like a laser on the state since his third place showing in Iowa.
While he hasn’t officially stated that he will be dropping out, Thompson’s concession speech tonight sounded very much like someone who was not expecting to continue to campaign. He thanked his friends, staff, and supporters and referred to the campaign as a journey. No mention was made of moving forward or fighting on into Florida or beyond.
McCain will get a big momentum boost from his win in South Carolina. And it’s widely expected that Thompson will endorse McCain, adding even more fuel to the fire.
In addition to all of this, there are rumors that Florida Senator Mel Martinez or Governor Charlie Crist may come out and make an official endorsement of McCain this week.
All of this is suggesting that McCain could sweep to victory in Florida next week, then Maine, and then wrap up the nomination on February 5th. But we’ll just have to wait and see.
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