Posted on 02/20/2016 10:43:13 PM PST by springwater13
72 percent.
That's the number of Republican voters in South Carolina's primary that identified as evangelical or born-again Christians, according to exit polling. That's an eye-popping, record-shattering figure: It was 65 percent in South Carolina's 2012 GOP primary, and 60 percent in 2008.
With three-quarters of the electorate identifying as evangelical, it was shaping up as a great night for Ted Cruz, who launched his campaign at Liberty University and has boasted of building a "firewall" to dominate the March 1 southern states because of their ultra-conservative, religious composition. South Carolina represented the first test of that theory.
Cruz failed. Among South Carolina's evangelical Republican voters, Trump won 33 percent, Cruz won 27 percent, and Rubio won 22 percent. And while Cruz did carry the 38 percent of "very conservative" voters in the state, it wasn't enough to finish anywhere close to Trump. Nor was it enough to beat Rubio, whom he finished roughly 1,000 votes behind.
This spells trouble for Cruz on Super Tuesday. He remains better-organized than any other candidate across the south (which should make a difference, considering both Trump and Rubio benefited from having impressive field operations in South Carolina). But there's no question Cruz's inability to carry the evangelical vote here portends poorly for him in states of similar ideological and demographic makeup.
That's a big problem for Cruz on March 1. But he faces even bigger challenges beyond then. Both Trump and Rubio performed evenly with non-evangelicals in South Carolina: Trump took 30 percent, and Rubio took 22 percent. But Cruz saw a significant drop-off, winning just 13 percent of that group. This echoes Cruz's performance in Iowa (33 percent with evangelicals, 19 percent with non-evangelicals) and New Hampshire (24 percent with evangelicals, 8 percent with non-evangelicals).
(Excerpt) Read more at nationalreview.com ...
They made a mistake if they thought that, because the history of South Carolina in recent GOP primaries doesn’t line up with Iowa. Huckabee and Santorum both lost it too.
Although Santorum lost in the end, he had less money than Cruz, he had a few favorable states pushed back to May that Cruz has in March (like Texas) and Cruz arguably is more respected on policy outside of social conservatism than Santorum is.
Cruz is poised for a real comeback in March.
Cruz’s biggest problem is himself.
He envisioned himself pastor of America.
That didn’t work so well for Jimmy Carter. It isn’t working so well for him. Even though the two had different slants on it.
A Conservative Emo
Despite all the talk of establishment vs. non-establishment, Trump and Cruz are fighting the same age-old Rockefeller vs. Goldwater battle that Romney and Santorum fought last time. Rubio is basically in the Gingrich role this time, someone who treads the line between the two sides, is liberal on immigration, conservative on other things and who has trouble winning any states.
I don’t understand what happened in s c ? Maybe a lot of folks just want a “winner” to make sure Hillary the Liar or Bernie the Red doesn’t get in? Or what happened ?
We have elections to answer those questions.
It’s worse than that. Cruz played pastor only in the evangelical states of Iowa and SC. He dared not behave that way in secular NH.
The point? He panders to Christianity only if there is a chance for his own political gain, not for the gain of God’s Kingdom.
By the way, HTR, high five on Trump’s win tonight.
Thank Ben Carson for this, for setting up a narrative that allowed Rubio to win votes by calling Cruz a liar even when Cruz soundly exposed him as the liar.
Truth doesn’t matter. I don’t think that’s the end result Carson wanted but it’s what we got, with help from a lot of Freepers who have no qualms about lying - most of them claiming it’s because they don’t like Cruz claiming to be Christian.
Looks like maybe it’ll be Rubio picking up Kasich and Bush’s votes and we’ll get a “Gang of Eight” guy we’re supposed to pull the lever for.
Again, thanks a lot, Ben Carson and a bunch of Freepers.
One other factor is record turnout, in 2012 South Carolina turned out what was then a record 607,000. This year beat it by almost 23% with 739,000 votes. Donald Trump is bringing people who have rarely or never vote in Republican primaries along with Cruz because conservatives are energized to have the opportunity to vote for a fighter, but you also have the anti Trump anti Cruz voters. 2000 573,000 2008 447,000
I think we’ll be fine so long as the anti-Rubio voters coalesce around one candidate. It needs to happen soon.
Well, I am looking to the Lord to orchestrate a larger victory in America. I believe the Lord still cares and still is listening to see if anyone will pray in sincerity. Certainly, having Barack Obama as president has encouraged the offering of such prayers.
Some people might not accept the gift of God if it lays in straw in a manger rather than being brought forth with pomp and circumstance in silk. But that only tells us about those people, not about God. God keeps on testing us to see if we will accept Him on basis of His merit, not on the basis of worldly show.
He’ll need to come in second in Nevada then. Another third, and that’ll be it.
Seems like you’d say Cruz’s biggest problem is that he actually does what your tagline says. That’s why you don’t like him.
Doesn’t make sense to me, but then a lot of things here make no sense to me.
How many Democrats voted in the GOP primary?
There is show roaring and then there is the roaring of the actual message of salvation. Which often doesn’t come all clothed in pomp and circumstance.
Trump has high negatives. And the folks around here are not helping him out any with that.
What Rubio’s finish tells me is that truth doesn’t matter. When that’s the case, everybody loses. The GOPe is gonna win this one unless the truth starts to matter. Again, a lot of the folks around here are doing nothing to make that happen, and a heckuva lot to make sure that it DOESN’T.
Santorum won all those states because Romney was a Massachusetts liberal. Also, the mormon stuff hurt him. A LOT.
And I notice you too expect me to be a one dimensional thinker. Like him, hate him, nothing in between. No room for criticism about where he has headed and where he might head, etc.
Trump has many enemies, true.
However his process has also not played out. He probably has been saving the sweetest deals for last.
The RNC is powerful.
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