SOUTH CAROLINA PRIMARY BLOGFEED

ALL TIMES EASTERN

9:40 - Cruz takes to the podium.  His supporters criticized Rubio for sounding like a winner in Iowa a couple short weeks ago.  Now he sounds like he is taking the opposite side of the table.  He looks to come in 3rd, but sounds like he is claiming victory in a state he should have won.  He claims these are historic results in his favor and that his team have "defied expectations."

9:35 - Charleston and Richland counties all in, and both voted for Rubio.  So far, Cruz is not winning a single county in a state that he was expected to have a good shot in for 1st.

9:30 - Rubio looks to have won the two populous counties in South Carolina tonight.  Most of the vote has come in from Charleston County, and Richland county is home to Columbia, and Rubio is decently in the lead there as well.

9:10 - Bush and Trump have addressed their supporters.  Rubio is about to take the podium momentarily.  Rep. Trey Gowdy has spoken at Rubio HQ and now Sen. Tim Scott is addressing the excited Rubio crowd.

8:58 - Now 67% of the numbers are in.  We have two-thirds of precincts in, and Trump is holding on to 33% of the vote, and Rubio is now alone in 2nd with 22.2% of the vote, followed by Cruz at 21.7% of the vote.  All other candidates are at 8% and less.  If Cruz ends in 3rd today, it is a major disappointment for his campaign.

8:43 - BREAKING:  Jeb Bush speaking to supporters in South Carolina announces he is withdrawing from the Presidential race.

8:38 - Now 43% of precincts in and Trump has 34% of the vote, followed by Rubio and Cruz, who are locked at 21.6% of the vote apiece..  Bush and Kasich almost locked at just over 8% of the vote apiece.

8:13 - Just over 20% of precincts in, and over 150,000 votes have been counted.  Rubio ahead of Cruz for 2nd by just 8 votes!  Close as it gets!

8:03 - New block of votes come in, propelling Rubio to 2nd.  Now 16% of vote in and Rubio with 22% of the vote to Cruz's 21%.  Kasich also now overtaking Bush for 4th.

8:00 - With 12% precincts reporting, Trump holds 34% of the vote, with Cruz at 22% and Rubio at 21%.  None of the other candidates break double digits.  Bush is in 4th with just under 10%, barely staying ahead of Kasich.

7:50 - As recently as last Sunday, the RealClearPolitics average of polling was showing Trump with a nearly 20 point margin over 2nd.  He is now fighting for a 10 point margin.  Rubio and Cruz both outperforming polling right now, while Bush, Kasich and Carson all down from their polling.

7:40 - All networks now calling the primary for Trump.  Rubio narrowly leading Cruz for 3rd.

7:31 - BREAKING:  The Fox News decision desk is calling South Carolina for Donald Trump, but projecting that he will end with only a single digit margin.  Rubio and Cruz in a race for 2nd.  

7:30 - A lay of South Carolina geography to keep in mind as results come in.  The state is pretty well split in three distinctive areas, and each have their own priorities.  The NW part of the state is strong with faith voters.  Spartanburg and Greenville are main cities in this area.  The central part of the state is home to Columbia, the state capital, and has a diverse blend of voters.  There are business-minded conservatives here, as well as a lot of foreign policy-focused voters with a number of veterans in that area.  Faith conservatives are plenty here also.  Lastly, there is what is known as the "Low Country".  This is the coastal area where Charleston and Myrtle Beach are larger population centers.  Many retirees live in this area.

7:09 - Reports coming in that late deciders broke heavily for Cruz and Rubio.  It is reported to be a tight 3-way race for 1st between Cruz, Rubio, Trump.

7:08 - Judging by what I hear in the exit polls and other info coming in, I will predict the following order:

1) Rubio

2) Cruz

3) Trump

4) Kasich

5) Bush

6) Carson

NEW HAMPSHIRE PRIMARY NIGHT LIVEBLOG

ALL TIMES EASTERN

10:35 - BREAKING: Fox is reporting that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is going home and not to South Carolina as he will reportedly "take stock" of what tonight's results mean.  He will not qualify for this Saturday's GOP debate as he will place sixth in New Hampshire tonight.

10:00 - GOP race for 3rd still very much up in the air.  We are now at 47% of precincts in, and Cruz still in 3rd with 12% of the vote.  Bush and Rubio are tied in percentage at 11%, and very close in raw votes.

9:10 - BREAKING: Fox is calling 2nd place in the New Hampshire GOP primary for Ohio Gov. John Kasich.  Battle now for 3rd place, which is very competitive.  With 24% of precincts in, Trump has 34% in 1st.  Kasich has 15%, and he is followed by Cruz and Bush both with 12% and Rubio at 10%.  Cruz is only ahead of Bush by 15 votes for that 3rd slot.  Rubio is only out of the 3rd slot by 900 votes out of over 66,000 votes counted.

8:00 - BREAKING:  Fox and CNN both call the New Hampshire primaries for Donald Trump on the Republican primary and Bernie Sanders on the Democrat side.  Just a matter now of seeing by how much and how the others on the GOP side fall in place.

7:50 - Very early, with 2% of precincts reporting, and Trump is off to a big lead at this time, at 34%.   He started though with over 40% of the vote as the first precincts reported.  Spots two through six are seeing a major log jam, with Kasich at 15%, Bush at 11%, Cruz and Rubio both at 10% and Christie down at 9%.

7:25 - "Phenomenal" and record-breaking turnout being reported in today's primary.  Some areas reporting over 60% turnout of registered voters!  The traffic line to one polling station in the town of Merrimack, a town of over 25,000 in the south of the state, stretched up to 2 miles!  The secretary of state's office and the attorney general's office in the state have ordered that the local moderator of the precinct can keep the polling place open "as long as she deems necessary".

6:10 - Personal prediction of the top 7 tonight.
                 1) Trump
                 2) Kasich
                 3) Rubio
                 4) Bush
                 5) Cruz
                 6) Christie
                 7) Fiornia

IOWA CAUCUS NIGHT LIVE BLOG

LATE BREAKING UPDATES FROM THE IOWA CAUCUSES TONIGHT WILL BE POSTED HERE:

ALL TIMES CENTRAL

10:20 - Texas Sen. Ted Cruz takes the stage for victory remarks.

10:17 - As we start the delegate count in this long process this winter and spring, Iowa starts us off in a three-way dead heat.  Preliminary delegate count totals broken down with Cruz at 8, Trump and Rubio at 7 apiece and Carson at 3.

10:06 - Review my prediction at the bottom of this post and see what you think.

9:52 - It is now 90% of caucus sites reporting on the Dem side, and we have a even-split.  Clinton with 50% and Sanders 50%.

9:48 - Florida Sen. Marco Rubio just wraps up an enthusiastic speech to supporters in Des Moines.

9:30 - BREAKING:  Republican candidate and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee has announced through Twitter that he will suspend his campaign for the Presidency.

9:25 - BREAKING:  Fox News projects a Cruz victory, with Trump in 2nd and Rubio a close 3rd.

9:20 - Now 99% of precincts in, and Cruz at 28% and Trump and Rubio in a virtual tie with 24% and 23% respectively.

9:15 - As we wait for new votes, the general consensus by way of chatter is now this.  Cruz put his eggs in the Iowa basket and he looks like he gets what he needed.  Not a major boost, as this state was tailor-made for him.  Trump seems to have underperformed if this holds, and talk already has him in a must-win situation in New Hampshire next week.  Marco Rubio looks to be the big winner by dramatically overperforming, and now we can expect to see him drawing support away from Kasich, Christie and Bush in New Hampshire.  Looking later in the month, The top three today have strength in South Carolina, and Sen. Tim Scott there is setting up to endorse Rubio tomorrow.

8:58 - BREAKING:  Dem candidate Martin O'Malley, the former Maryland governor, is reportedly set to suspend his Presidential campaign tonight.  That is no surprise, but the real story there is that the only younger Democratic candidate is dropping out.  The party that tries to build an image of appealing to youth and looking to the future has two career politicians that are well into their 70s.

8:56 - Neil Cavuto on Fox Business coverage is reporting that "Marco Rubio could be the story of the night."  I think that is an obvious answer.

8:53 - Total between the three contenders narrowing with 75% of precincts in.  Cruz now at 28%, Trump at 25% and Rubio at 22%.  Just six points separating 1st from 3rd!

8:46 - Narrowest of leads for Hillary Clinton on the Dem side.  With 63% of precincts in, Clinton at 51% and Sanders at 49%.

8:38 - Now 47% of precincts in.  Cruz still stuck at 29%, Trump at 25%, and Rubio nipping at his heels with 21%.

8:33 - Sudden surge of numbers coming in.  Now 41% reporting, and Cruz still narrowly ahead with 29%, Trump 26% and Rubio at 20%, breaking into the 20%+ club.  Carson in 4th at 10%.

8:31 - Here is one precinct that Rubio won in a blowout:

Urbandale-15 is a rout.
Rubio 106 Cruz 39 Trump 33 Carson 11 Kasich 10 Paul 5 Fiorina 5 Santorum 4 Jeb 4 Huckabee 2

8:22 - CNN now has an estimate at the Ankeny caucus with Rubio at 34%, Cruz at 28% and Trump 18%.  Not indicative of the Hawkeye State as a whole, but Trump's weakness is surprising as it is a business conservative's area.

8:19 - Numbers continuing to come in.  Now at 24% of precincts in, and Cruz still in 1st with 30%, Trump next at 27% and Rubio at 19%.  Many larger caucus sites and urban areas still have yet to report.  Watch these urban areas where there will be likely stronger support for Trump and Rubio.

8:01 - Now 7% of precincts in with Cruz at 30%, Trump 29% and Rubio 18%.

7:49 - Very, very early numbers in now.  With 3% of precincts in, Cruz at 31%, Trump 30% and Rubio 16%.  All others in single digits.

7:38 - CNN entrance poll showing 63% of GOP caucus-goers consider themselves evangelical.  Among them, the vast majority split nearly identically between Cruz, Trump, Rubio with Cruz 2% ahead.  Among non-evangelicals, Trump holds a decent lead with Rubio in 2nd.  This has to be considered concerning and pretty alarming news at Cruz headquarters.

7:15 - Fox News entrance polls showing a tight race on the GOP caucus between Trump, Cruz and Rubio for first.  Entrance polling on the Dem caucus showing a tight race between Clinton and Sanders.  In other words, we have a free-for-all, just as we expected coming in this weekend.

7:10 - Personal prediction of the GOP race top 5 tonight
           1) Cruz
           2) Rubio
           3) Trump
           4) Carson
           5) Paul

PRESIDENTIAL ENDORSEMENT

While many folks remain undecided often times up until just days before an election, I have long made it a point to try to endorse early on when I know there is a candidate who needs to be supported.  

This year, we are seriously in a historic and crossroads election.  Who is the best candidate to undo the eight years of damage to our Constitution, to our moral fabric, to our standing and repor in the world?  Looking even further back, who is in the best position to lead the way in rolling back the decades of blows to our founding values and our reality in being founded as a Christian nation?  Who will work to stem the tide of now trillions in national debt and growing radical Islamic and racial violence at home and particularly abroad?  These are critical questions the American people need to ponder on.

Well before 2015, even as far back as 2013, my choice all along was Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.  I believe he combined nearly all the characteristics needed in our next President.  A fighter, strong in faith, conservative on family values, economics and foreign policy, from the Midwest, able to attract grassroots and establishment Republicans, along with independents.  When he withdrew from the race, I had to ask the question of who was now in the race that would be the best overall candidate.

As I made my decision, I had a number of factors and scenarios I had to decipher:  

Who could unite the GOP?  

Who is the strongest conservative who doesn't deliver a harsh message?  

Who is optimistic about our nation and our potential?  

Who is strong on faith and lives a life of character?  

Who has decent experience in public service?  

Who is experienced enough to know what needs to be done, yet young enough to fully know our unique time in history?  

On that note, who has a strong vision to make this another American Century just as the last?  

Who can beat the Democratic nominee?  

Who can not only win the must-wins of Florida, Virginia, Ohio and Colorado, but who might be able to put states like Pennsylvania, Nevada and New Mexico back in play like when we started this century? 

What are their stands on the issues and what is their record on those issues?

The most important issues to me, in no particular order:

Respect for the Constitution and standing firm on our Founding document.

Strong faith and character.

Appointment of strict Supreme Court and federal judges, conservative by the Constitution.

Strong against radical Islamic terror.

For the right to life and the Biblical definition of marriage.

Strong economy by reforming the tax code, breaking down unnecessary regulations, and fighting the national debt.

When I asked myself these questions and surveyed the field, I found that one man far superseded the rest of the field when putting all of these issues together. 

That man is Florida Senator Marco Rubio.

He has a 94% conservative rating from Heritage Action and a 98% lifetime conservative rating from the American Conservative Union.

He has a strong, positive vision for our nation and its future.  He is optimistic and hopeful.

He is unashamed to talk about issues of faith and family values, and has a conservative record on those issues.  He is a family man with a highly respectable character.

His experience on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has prepared him to be the strongest in the field regarding knowledge of and solutions to defeating radical Islam.

He is well experienced in local and state, and now federal government and how it works through his years of public service.

I am confident he would appoint strong, constructionist Supreme Court judges.

He has a strong, conservative vision on reforming the tax code, entitlements, dismantling unneeded regulations and bringing the national debt under control.

His vision and charisma, and his inspirational life story, is attractive to many.

He can unite the GOP, and he is able to deliver Florida, and would be very competitive in Ohio, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Colorado and Nevada.

HE CAN DEFEAT CLINTON OR SANDERS!

There are a number of good, conservative candidates in this race.  Cruz, Santorum, Carson, Fiornia. Walker, Perry and Jundal were all great conservative candidates, but unfortunately could not catch on.  There is a big choice to be made.  At the end of the day, however, it is Sen. Marco Rubio that is the total package, the best man to be President of the United States at this time.

I hope you will decide the same also!

                                          Courtesy: TheConservativeTreehouse.com

                                          Courtesy:  Redstate.com