In a primary with a record number of ballots cast, businessman Donald Trump has been declared the winner of the 2016 South Carolina Republican primary. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio came in second in a close battle with Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.
Rubio jumped ahead of Cruz in the last polling average of the primary from RealClearPolitics by just 0.3 percent, coming off a big last-minute endorsement from SC Gov. Nikki Haley.
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush suspended his campaign for the Republican nomination following a disappointing finish in the South Carolina primary.
South Carolina has a tradition of picking the eventual Republican nominee in its primary, save for Newt Gingrich's 2012 victory. The Palmetto State is seen by many as the first primary state to give an accurate depiction of the national electorate because its demographics are more representative of the country than Iowa and New Hampshire.
Due to congressional district breakdowns, Trump will be awarded all 50 South Carolina delegates.
More than 700,000 ballots were cast throughout the Palmetto State, a new record for the Republican primary.
Elsewhere in the 2016 presidential race, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton defeated Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in the Nevada Democratic caucuses despite a late surge by the senator. The "First in the West" caucus is notoriously hard to predict due to a lack of quality polling, but a loss would have been a serious blow to the Clinton campaign coming out of a tough defeat in New Hampshire. Clinton was buoyed by the African-American vote, women and older Democrats.
Next up for the Republican side is the Nevada Republican caucus, to be held on Feb. 23. Trump holds a 22 point lead over Cruz in the most recent RealClearPolitics Nevada average. Democrats will head to South Carolina on Feb. 27. Clinton holds a 24.1 point lead over Sanders in the most recent RealClearPolitics South Carolina average.