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..... Lindsey Graham – one of Donald Trump’s most outspoken critics within the Republican Party – congratulated the Republican candidate on his presidential victory early Wednesday, hours after he voted against Trump. In a statement, Graham says that after the election, “we now have a country to run,” and names several areas he hopes to work on with the president-elect, include “keeping trade free but fairer,” rebuilding the military, repealing President Obama’s health care law, and confirming new Supreme Court justices.

I voted @Evan_McMullin for President. I appreciate his views on a strong America and the need to rebuild our military. #3

Sen. Lindsey Graham has predicted a massive loss for Donald Trump in November, saying the GOP presidential nominee has alienated voters to the point of no return. “Reality is reality,” the South Carolina Republican said Tuesday on WABC Radio’s Imus in the Morning, BuzzFeed first reported. “Mitt Romney got 27% of the Hispanic vote. By 2050, a majority of the country will be African-American, Hispanic, Asian, and others, and we’re losing demographically. We’ve gone from 44% with Bush to 27% with Romney, and I don’t think Donald Trump’s gonna get 20%,” Mr. Graham said. “The problems we’ve had with young...

(Feb 24, 2016) Down nearly 30 points to Hillary Clinton in South Carolina, Bernie Sanders is leaving the state and turning his attention elsewhere ahead of Saturday's primary. Clinton, on the other hand, plans to stay in South Carolina

COLUMBIA Asked about the odds of Hillary Clinton winning South Carolina in this fall’s presidential election, Clemson University political scientist David Woodard replied: “It’s more realistic that we’ll be invaded by Martians.” South Carolina has not voted for a Democratic presidential candidate in four decades, and pundits do not expect that streak to end in November. Even Democrats acknowledge Clinton’s chances of beating GOP nominee Donald Trump in the Palmetto State are slim. But as Clinton celebrates her presidential nomination in Philadelphia, some within the party hold out hope she could pull off a historic upset. “She has a chance,”...

Wednesday on MSNBC, Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC) said presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s claim of being “the law and order candidate” was a “dog whistle” to white supremacists. Clyburn said, “Mr. Trump needs to get serious about this issue and stop making light of it. No system is rigged against him because of his skin color. That’s what race is all about. We must be serious about that, have a conversation with each other about that and see what we can do to solve this problem. And not hide behind what may or may not have happened to you...

On May 23rd, we here at Mediaite ran this headline: Lindsey Graham Caves, Quietly Tells Fellow Republicans to Get Behind Trump 14 days later, Graham has not only done a complete 180, but he is telling other Republicans to un-endorse Donald Trump. Yes, just so we’re clear, Graham went from “hell no” on Trump to “eh maybe” on Trump to “okay let’s do this” on Trump to “ABANDON THIS SINKING SHIP WOMEN AND CHILDREN AND DONORS FIRST.” Graham spoke to The New York Times and made it clear he’s telling Republicans to get out while they still can: Senator Lindsey...

Nikki Haley‘s response to Dylann Roof shooting up a church in the state that she governs and killing nine people hasn’t always been perfect. In fact, it’s been cringeworthy at times, but she deserves credit from supporters for eventually removing the Confederate flag from state grounds and denouncing its use altogether. She has a history of coming around on issues and then really hitting them hard. For evidence of that, look no further than her fearless takedown of Donald Trump during her response to President Barack Obama‘s State of the Union address this year. Now, she is joining Hillary Clinton...

For nearly a week now, Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign has refused to answer a simple yes or no question: whether she favors the Department of Justice’s decision to seek the death penalty for Dylann Roof, who is accused of killing nine people last year at a historically black church in Charleston, South Carolina.

Trump had courted the hawkish Graham, a leading voice in the GOP on defense issues, for his input on national security policy, the senator said. But Trump turned on the charm for Graham, who called the conversation “very cordial [and] funny.” “He’s got a great sense of humor. He’s from New York, he obviously can take a punch,” Graham told reporters. “I wished him well and that’s where we are.”

COLUMBIA — Gov. Nikki Haley, one of the most popular figures in the Republican Party, hasn’t decided if she will attend the Republican National Convention in July. Haley said Monday she’s waiting until South Carolina’s 2016 legislative session ends four weeks from now before she decides whether she’ll take part July 18 to 21 in Cleveland. “We’ve got time,” Haley said. “That’s not until July.” If she skips the convention, Haley would be joining a growing list of Republican leaders who are opting out of attending — accentuating the deepening divide within the GOP as New York billionaire Donald Trump...

DONALD J. TRUMP RESPONSE TO LINDSEY GRAHAM "I fully understand why Lindsey Graham cannot support me. If I got beaten as badly as I beat him, and all the other candidates he endorsed, I would not be able to give my support either. Every time I see Lindsey Graham spew hate during interviews I ask why the media never questions how I single-handedly destroyed his hapless run for President. As a candidate who did not receive 1% in his own state - compared to my victory at nearly 40% with many others in the race - he has zero credibility....

In Colorado and South Carolina, the GOP's embattled front-runner had another very bad day. Donald Trump’s struggle to win loyal delegates to the Republican National Convention grew even more desperate on Saturday, with crushing losses in Colorado and South Carolina that put victory at a contested convention further from his grasp. Trump, who handed the reins of much of his campaign this week to strategist Paul Manafort in an effort to shore up his operation before the nomination slips away, was swept out of delegate slots up for grabs at Colorado’s state convention. Adding to his woes, he picked up...

So that’s why Cruz won’t give a straight answer when he’s asked if he’ll break his pledge over Trump insulting his wife. It’s not about proving he’s a “man of his word.” It’s because, as usual, he’s well-versed in the rules and Trump isn’t.Hard to overstate what a big deal this would be if the challenge prevailed and Trump lost these delegates. By winning statewide and in every congressional district, Trump turned South Carolina into his fourth-biggest delegate haul of the campaign to date. He netted 50 there. If he lost those, his odds of getting to 1,237 on...

"Donald Trump triumphed in South Carolina's primary last month. Now, the state could be ground zero for his undoing." "Ted Cruz and John Kasich are aggressively mobilizing allies to recruit and elect their own South Carolina loyalists to the national Republican --scheduled for late July in Cleveland." "All 50 of South Carolina's delegates are duty-bound to support Trump on a first vote, but interviews with two dozen prospective delegates and Party insiders, including several Trump backers-- reveal a widespread belief that Cruz and Kasich will succeed in wresting the delegation away from Trump if the nomination fight heads to a...

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley on Wednesday said she hoped Ted Cruz would pull through with the Republican nomination. The statement comes a day after Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, the candidate she had previously supported, suspended his campaign. "I thought that Marco Rubio was and is an amazing public servant. I think that he really tapped into so much of what people want in terms of the American dream," Haley told reporters in Columbia, according to a video. "I think he had a lot of knowledge in terms of what they had to do, but it obviously wasn’t his time....

NBC News PR / @NBCNewsPR: Sen. Graham on @MeetThePress: Cruz called me a couple days ago when I suggested I would support him over Trump.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Hillary Clinton overwhelmed Bernie Sanders in Saturday's South Carolina primary, drawing staggering support from the state's black Democrats and seizing an increasingly strong position as the presidential race barrels toward Super Tuesday's crucial contests. Clinton's lopsided win — she led by 48 points with nearly all precincts counted — provided an important boost for her campaign and a moment to wipe away bitter memories of her loss to Barack Obama in South Carolina eight years ago. She won the support of nearly 9 in 10 black voters, crucial Democratic backers who abandoned her for Obama in...

Hillary Clinton kept her eye on the general election during her South Carolina primary victory speech, bashing GOP front-runner Donald Trump right off the bat. "Despite what you hear, we don’t need to make America great again – America hasn’t stopped being great. But we do need to make America whole again," she said Saturday in South Carolina, mocking Trump's slogan. "Instead of building walls, we need to be tearing down barriers. We need to show, by everything we do, that we really are in this together.” The former secretary of State appeared passionate as she worked to rally her...

Bernie Sanders ‏@BernieSanders 58m58 minutes ago It's time for this injustice to end. 941 retweets 1,542 likes Undocumented and Unafraid | Bernie Sanders We cannot and we should not even be talking about sweeping up millions of men, women, and children and throwing them out of the country.