McCain defeats Huckabee in tight race in S.C.

Economy, immigration top voters concerns in key GOP primary

COLUMBIA, S.C. - John McCain narrowly defeated Mike Huckabee in the Republican primary in South Carolina on Saturday.

With returns from 93 precincts counted, McCain won about 33 percent of the vote and Huckabee had about 30 percent. Fred Thompson was in third place with 16 percent, after saying he needed a strong showing to sustain his candidacy. Another Republican, California Rep. Duncan Hunter, dropped out even before the votes were tallied.

McCain won 19 of the state's GOP delegates, and Huckabee won 5.

McCain called his victory evidence that his campaign "can carry right through" Florida into the giant round of caucuses and primaries on Feb. 5. "I know it's not easy," he told The Associated Press, "and we've got a long way to go."

South Carolina was where McCain's presidential prospects died eight years ago, and he savored the victory this time. "It just took us awhile, that's all," he said in the interview. "Eight years is not a long time."

Asked if he was now the front-runner for the GOP nomination, McCain demurred.

"I don't know," he said, "we like to run from behind."

Huckabee told his supporters there was still a long way to go in the race for the presidential nomination.

“This is not an event, it is a process," Hucakbee said, "and the process is far, far from over.”

Interviews with South Carolina voters leaving their polling places indicated that McCain, an Arizona senator, and Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor, divided the Republican vote somewhat evenlyh. As was his custom, McCain won the votes of self-described independents.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney cruised to victory earlier in the day in the little-contested Nevada caucuses.

No matter the state, the economy was the top issue. Republicans in Nevada and South Carolina cited immigration as their second most-important concern.

South Carolina's primary has gone to the party's eventual nominee every four years since 1980.

That made it a magnet for Thompson, who staked his candidacy on a strong showing, as well as for Romney, McCain and Huckabee.

McCain, a former Vietnam prisoner of war, appealed to a large population of military veterans in South Carolina, and stressed his determination to rein in federal spending as he worked to avenge a bitter defeat in the 2000 primary.