McCain Wins South Carolina; Duncan Hunter Drops Out, Fred Thompson May Be Next

With 82 percent of precincts reporting in the South Carolina primary, Senator John McCain had 33 percent and Mike Huckabee, 29 percent. Fred Thompson had 16 percent, Mitt Romney had 15 percent. Ron Paul was polling at 4 percent and Rudy Giuliani at 2 percent.

Duncan Hunter, fairing poorly in both Nevada and South Carolina on Saturday, dropped out of the race, citing his failure to gain "traction" in the GOP contests. Thompson, who had said he was "drawing a line in the sand" and had to win South Carolina, might be about to follow Hunter in exiting the race. Thompson has not been a factor in any state thus far.

The win for McCain is a big boost going into the Florida primary January 29 and Super Tuesday February 5, when 24 states hold a variety of primaries and caucuses for both parties. There has been no breakaway frontrunner in the GOP race. Huckabee won the January 3 Iowa caucuses, while McCain won the January 8 New Hampshire primary. Romney won lower profile contests in Wyoming, Michigan and Nevada, but leads the delegate count.

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