S.C. exit polls put McCain, Huckabee in fight for 1st

[Soldier4Christ]

S.C. exit polls put McCain, Huckabee in fight for 1st 
Romney, Thompson battling for 3rd position

With the polls closed in South Carolina, Sen. John McCain and former Gov. Mike Huckabee are locked in a tight battle for first place in the state's GOP primary, with former Gov. Mitt Romney and former Sen. Fred Thompson battling it out for third.

With the GOP nomination still up for grabs, a win in South Carolina would boost the bid of McCain or Huckabee with little more than two weeks left before the Florida primary Jan. 29 — where former Mayor Rudy Giuliani looks strong — and the multistate Super Tuesday votes Feb. 5.

Support from veterans, who account for a quarter of the electorate in South Carolina, as well as independents and moderates have boosted McCain's chances, according to preliminary exit poll results, while a large turnout by conservatives and evangelicals has buoyed the chances of Huckabee.

Historically the Palmetto State's GOP primary has been a kingmaker — no Republican presidential candidate has captured the White House without first winning the South Carolina primary since former President Reagan won the state's primary in 1980.

But with multiple candidates winning multiple early contests, and the GOP field still in flux, this may be the year the state's kingmaker status falls on its sword.

Thompson Status 'Fluid'

Thompson, who has yet to win any presidential contest, made the biggest effort of his campaign in the state, highlighting his southern roots and conservative ideology.

A Thompson campaign spokesman told ABC News' Christine Byun their status is "fluid" and they will evaluate their situation based on final results.

In a speech to supporters Saturday night before the final results were known, the former Tennessee senator thanked his supporters and his family, and suggested his candidacy had pushed the Republican Party to evaluate itself.

"Because of your efforts and because of our working together our party is looking in the mirror," Thompson told supporters in Columbia, S.C.

"My friends we will always be bound by a close bond ... It's never been about me, it's never been about you, it's about our country," Thompson told the crowd, saying "Stay Strong!" as he exited the stage.

Long-shot Republican presidential candidate California Rep. Duncan Hunter dropped out of the race not long after the polls closed in S.C., after a disappointing finish in the Nevada caucuses.

McCain's Second Try

At a McCain rally in S.C., small cheers went up whenever McCain's name appeared above Huckabee's on the television, reports ABC News' Bret Hovell.

"We're going to win," predicted McCain's South Carolina press secretary B.J. Boling.

The first speaker who took the stage to address McCain supporters said, "we've been waiting eight years for this night."

McCain's desire to win the Palmetto State is as personal as it is political. The Navy veteran's presidential aspirations were cut short soon after a bitter defeat in the 2000 GOP S.C. primary, where outside groups made wild accusations about McCain's integrity and military record.

"Obviously South Carolina's very important. I said we would win here. But exactly how it plays out in the grand scheme of things, I don't know," McCain said today on his Straight Talk Express bus.

Political observers say McCain's perseverance in the state may pay off with voters.

"In South Carolina there is a kind of tradition to run first and lose gracefully to show enough humility to assume the metals of office while winning on the second try," said Blease Graham, a professor of political science at the University of South Carolina.

This time around, McCain has focused on appealing to the sizable population of military veterans in the state. One in four South Carolina GOP voters are veterans, according to preliminary exit polls, about the same as in past years. They are about 10 points in McCain's favor, ABC News' Gary Langer reports.

McCain has also focused on wooing conservatives by highlighting his opposition to abortion, the dangers of Internet child porn and his pledge to nominate "strict constructionist" judges.

Preliminary exit poll results indicate that nearly seven in 10 Republican voters in the state are identifying themselves as conservatives, which is more than in the 2000 primary there, as well as more than in either Michigan or New Hampshire this year.

Voting Problems

Meanwhile McCain and Huckabee's team complained this afternoon about voting problems in Horry County, near Myrtle Beach, S.C.

"We've heard reports of people literally casting ballots on scraps of paper," McCain spokeswoman B.J. Boling told ABC News' Ron Claiborne.

South Carolina election commission officials confirmed that a number of voting machines in a number of precincts in Horry County had difficulty this morning from human error in preparing the voting machines for the election, reports ABC News' Tahman Bradley.

Officials say "there's nothing to indicate that the votes cast in Horry County have been compromised" because voters have been directed to cast a paper ballot in places where electronic machines have failed, reports ABC News' Teddy Davis.

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Huckabee's S.C. state co-chair Mike Campbell said the campaign has a team of lawyers in Myrtle Beach to understand what happened, and said it was "ludicrous" the polling places didn't have a sufficient contingency.

Christian Evangelicals

Huckabee greeted voters at a polling place in Columbia, S.C., early this morning, thanking supporters who had braved the rain to vote.

The former Arkansas governor urged Christian evangelicals to turn out and vote, despite the rain, sleet and snow.

"I just hope that our voters are so committed that it doesn't affect the fact that they're going to go out and vote, because they believe this is a mission," he said, reported the AP.

The former Southern Baptist minister has appealed to many Christian evangelicals in the state — the same group that propelled him to victory in the Iowa caucuses.

Nearly six in 10 in South Carolina are evangelical Christians, according to preliminary exit poll results. About seven in 10 GOP voters said abortion should be generally illegal; more than said so either in Michigan, or in markedly less-conservative New Hampshire.

"He's the candidate whose core values most closely resemble mine," said Tony Beam, a Christian evangelical and host of a morning Christian talk radio program in Columbia, S.C. who urged his listeners to vote for Huckabee.

"I want somebody who when a crisis arises or when they have to make a decision, that they're going to have to go to their core values to guide them."

Romney's Nevada Win

Romney, who is trailing in the polls behind McCain and Huckabee, left the state two days earlier to focus his campaigning in Nevada, in an effort to lower expectations in South Carolina and concentrate instead on the state with more delegates.

Nevada has 34 delegates to South Carolina's 24 delegates, according to ABC News' delegate count.

That gamble appears to have paid off, with Romney winning the GOP Nevada caucuses today.

Romney significantly outspent his rivals in overall television advertising in South Carolina. His ads aired 5,257 times to Huckabee's 2,049 and McCain's 1,471, between February 2007 and Tuesday in the Charleston, Columbia, Greenville-Spartanburg and Myrtle Beach-Florence TV markets, according to a report by Nielsen.

However after losses in Iowa and New Hampshire, Romney pulled some ads in South Carolina to focus his resources on Michigan.

When a reporter told him today it didn't look like he'll win the Palmetto State, Romney, who was already campaigning in Florida, said, "I'm not ready to concede based upon exit polls, but you may well be right."

Giuliani Takes on McCain

Giuliani, never thought to be a factor in the state, is in Florida this weekend, sticking with his strategy of concentrating on the delegate-rich state that votes Jan. 29 — he hopes a win there will propel him through the Super Tuesday votes.

In what is perhaps a signal of McCain's strength, Giuliani Saturday did something he has shied away from this entire campaign, reports ABC News' Jan Simmonds.

He called out McCain, who is his friend, and Romney, by name, accusing them of not supporting the Bush tax cuts.

"John McCain voted with the Democrats against the tax cuts twice," he told a Florida retirement community.

Hoping to attract media coverage on voting day in South Carolina, even while running low in the polls, Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul's campaign's announced the Ron Paul Blimp would be flying over Columbia, carrying Paul's son, Rand Paul, 45, and two of the candidates grandchildren.

But in the end it is McCain, who won the New Hampshire primary, and Huckabee, who won the GOP Iowa caucus, who are poised to take the first-in-the-South primary.

[Soldier4Christ]

McCain and Huckabee have been going back and forth all night but the closer it gets for all of the votes to get in it is looking more like McCain is going to get it in SC.

[Soldier4Christ]

The SC primary was just given to John McCain with 33% of the votes and only 83% of the votes in. Huckabee was a close second with 30% of the votes.

[Soldier4Christ]

Statement from Sen. Fred Thompson

Senator Fred Thompson today issued the following statement about his campaign for President:

"Today I have withdrawn my candidacy for President of the United States.  I hope that my country and my party have benefited from our having made this effort.  Jeri and I will always be grateful for the encouragement and friendship of so many wonderful people."

With Thompson gone from the race it will be interesting to see who his followers will support McCain, Huckabee or ..... ?

From what I have seen most of them are adamant about being against McCain mostly because of his really weak stance on abortion. Unfortunately some are saying they will sit out this election. Unfortunate for sure as it will give the democrats a big advantage and a big demise of America to a point even further than it already is.