Obama Ahead in South Carolina in 2008 Elections

Huckabee scales back in Florida

Meanwhile, as both parties look to the Florida primary, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is scaling back his campaigning there due to a cash shortage, the New York Times reports Wednesday.

Huckabee told reporters he doesn't plan to advertise in the Sunshine State, the Times reported. Top Huckabee consultant Ed Rollins and other staff members have also agreed to work without pay, and his campaign stopped arranging transportation for the traveling media, the Times reported.

Huckabee's pullback may give his rivals a boost. Polls show Sen. John McCain, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and ex-Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney locked in a tight race for the nomination in Florida.

On Wednesday, Giuliani appealed to Floridians, who deal regularly with hurricanes, by backing a national catastrophe fund and saying he'd lower insurance rates.

In a nod to his stint as mayor during the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Giuliani said in a video on his web site that "only one Republican candidate has proven experience dealing with disaster. Only one will fight for a national catastrophe fund."

Illinois Sen. Barack Obama is enjoying a comfortable lead in the newest polls over rival Hillary Clinton as the South Carolina primary draws closer.

Palmetto State Democrats hold their primary on Saturday. In an average of polls compiled by RealClearPolitics, Obama is pulling in 42.8% of voters while New York senator Clinton is getting 30.6%. Former North Carolina senator John Edwards is trailing with 14.2%.

South Carolina will be one of the last dominoes to fall before Florida's Jan. 29 primary and the Feb. 5 "Super Tuesday," when the candidates compete for delegates from 21 states. The Feb. 5 contest could be a make-or-break day for White House hopefuls since it includes big states like California and New York.

In South Carolina, half of all likely Democratic voters are African-American, which may work to Obama's advantage. In exit polls conducted at the Nevada caucuses on Jan. 19, 83% of that state's black voters went with Obama, who is African-American.

Republicans prepare for Florida in 08

Speaking at a news conference at the Bank of America Midtown Plaza, Huckabee said Saturday's results in South Carolina were close. He finished second to U.S. Sen. John McCain, just 3 percentage points behind.

Huckabee was then in Atlanta to attend the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. commemorative service and to pick up the endorsement of nearly three dozen black ministers and religious leaders from around the country.

When told that Georgia Republicans have voted the same as South Carolinians in every Republican presidential primary since 1980, Huckabee was undeterred.

"They may have voted that way since 1980, but there have been a lot of firsts this campaign season and there's going to be another one. A big one. We plan on carrying Georgia," he said.

Huckabee said things would have been different Saturday had it not been for the presence of former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson on the ballot. Thompson seemed to pull voters away from Huckabee, given both men's appeal to evangelical voters.

"We were this close," Huckabee said. "Some of it, we think, was the Fred Thompson factor. We would have won handily if it weren't for that."

Huckabee took off from the news conference Monday for Florida, where Republicans hold a primary next week. But Huckabee returns to Atlanta Tuesday morning for a pair of receptions and to speak at the Georgia Right to Life memorial service at the Capitol.

Dean Nelson, executive director of the Network of Politically Active Christians, was among those at the news conference endorsing Huckabee.

"Mike Huckabee is the person who encapsulates and carries the values the African-American community holds," Nelson said.

He said he made that decision after Huckabee was the only Republican candidate to show up for a debate sponsored by PBS at historically black Morgan State University.

On the other side of the Republican Party, boosted by strong support from independents and South Carolina's active and retired military voters, Mr. McCain edged out Mr. Huckabee, 33% to 30%.

The results mark a dramatic reversal of fortune for Mr. McCain in the Palmetto State. He was defeated here in 2000 in his unsuccessful presidential bid against George W. Bush -- a campaign marked by negative attacks on the senator's personal life and professional record. "It took us a while, but what's eight years among friends," said a laughing Mr. McCain Saturday night.

On Sunday, Mr. McCain called the GOP contest "still very competitive" but said his South Carolina win gives him momentum heading into the next big battle in Florida. Mr. McCain took a swipe at Rudy Giuliani, who avoided the early primary states to make his first big stand in Florida, which votes Jan. 29. Mr. McCain said he expected to come under heavy criticism from the former New York mayor.

"If someone hasn't run a primary, I can understand why they would attack the front-runner," Mr. McCain told reporters at a news conference.

"I think we're obviously doing very well," Mr. McCain said. Still, he added, "This is still very competitive."

Despite favor from the state's evangelical voting bloc and efforts from outside groups on his behalf, Mr. Huckabee couldn't pull out a win. He heads into Florida in a weakened position, unable to show he can win Republican votes outside of his evangelical base. But Mr. Huckabee struck an optimistic tone in his defeat, noting that he'd rather lose "with honor" than have resorted to negative attacks. "The process is far, far from over," he vowed in his concession speech. "The path to the White House is not ending here tonight."

McCain Takes S. Carolina

With the ghost of 2000 behind him, McCain told the Associated Press, "It just took us a while. That's all. Eight years is not a long time."

Arizona Sen. John McCain won the South Carolina GOP primary on Saturday, edging out former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee in a tight race in a state that effectively ended his presidential bid eight years ago. With nearly all precincts reporting, McCain had a lead of about three percentage points over Huckabee.

Since 1980, the winner of this primary has also been the party's nominee. McCain also collected a victory in the New Hampshire primary on Jan. 8, but lost the contest in Michigan on Jan. 15 to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who also won Saturday's caucuses in Nevada.

But in South Carolina, widely respected for its kingmaker role in recent GOP nomination fights, Romney finished a distant third — not far ahead of former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson, whose campaign seemed to be on the ropes. Thompson had said he needed a strong showing in South Carolina to revitalize his prospects.

Huckabee told supporters that he wished that he had won and then complimented his rival McCain.

"I want to thank him for running a civil, good campaign. That's one of the things that I'm proud of," Huckabee said.

The race was closely watched not only because of South Carolina's predictive role in the past, but because polls had shown several candidates in a close contest here this month, with many voters remaining undecided.

South Carolina Republicans went to the polls in drab, cold weather, with snow in the state's upper regions, where many of the state's more conservative, evangelical Christian voters live.

Voters in the capital city of Columbia told NPR they were most concerned about national security, immigration and the economy. Unemployment in the state has reached 6.6 percent, the third-highest rate in the country.

Early exit polls conducted by the Associated Press and TV Networks showed that moderate voters and older voters supported McCain, while those attending church most often (more than once a week) more often voted for Huckabee. Military veterans made up one fourth of the Republican voters, and McCain had a 10-point lead over his rival with this group.

Former Baptist minister Huckabee had the advantage of campaigning in a state where at least 40 percent of the voters consider themselves evangelicals. More than half of those voting Saturday identified themselves in this camp.

Some of the vote count was delayed on primary day as voters in Myrtle Beach reported malfunctioning electronic voting machines, and some were forced to use paper ballots.

In the days leading up to the primary, there were reports of campaign smear tactics, including fake Christmas cards and phony telephone surveys intended to slander candidates. One leaflet that circulated even tried to cast aspersions on McCain's five years as a prisoner-of-war in Vietnam. The calls and leafleting were paid for by independent groups, which may not coordinate with the candidate under federal election law.

The tactics harkened back to McCain's defeat here in 2000, when rumors circulated that McCain's wife was a drug addict and that his adopted Bangladeshi daughter was a mixed race child he had fathered out of wedlock. McCain lost the South Carolina primary that year to George W. Bush.