This live page is now closed.

For more on how the 2024 Republican primary unfolded in South Carolina, read our story here.

For more context on Nikki Haley’s campaign for the Republican nomination – and what it says about the state of politics in the United States – read our analysis here.

It is 10:45pm in South Carolina (03:45 GMT) and we are going to bring our live coverage of the state’s presidential primaries to an end.

Here is a summary of the main events from this evening’s South Carolina primary:

• Former President Donald Trump once again bolted to victory in the fourth race of the Republican primary calendar, his victory announced within minutes of polls closing.
• Trump has become the first non-incumbent candidate to claim wins in the first four state-level primary races.
• South Carolina’s former governor, Nikki Haley, nevertheless pledged to continue towards her goal of pursuing her campaign through the Super Tuesday races.
• In her post-vote speech, Haley once again pitched herself as an alternative to Trump, one with a better ability to defeat Joe Biden in the general elections.
• Both candidates now head to Michigan for the fifth Republican primary contest on Tuesday.

New Hampshire Governor and fellow Republican Chris Sununu has long been a vocal supporter of Haley. Even after her blistering defeat in South Carolina on Saturday, he took to CNN to offer his support for her ongoing long-shot campaign.

“There’s Super Tuesday to go, there’s a lot of opportunity here,” Sununu told the media outlet.

He noted that all the other prominent Republican candidates – outside of Trump – had dropped out of the race for the party nomination long ago.

“She’s the last one standing, so clearly she did something,” Sununu explained. “Everyone else got wiped out.”

He also praised her for going “after Trump, hard, over the last month”. But he indicated that Super Tuesday – the day when 15 states hold their primaries – will be pivotal for Haley’s odds moving forward.

“If you don’t win anything on Super Tuesday, it might be tough going forward,” he said.

Michigan, a key US swing state that is home to a large Arab-American population, is holding its Republican and Democratic presidential primaries on Tuesday.

And on the Democratic side, many Arab-American voters have expressed anger at Biden over his unwavering support for Israel as it bombards the Gaza Strip.

Many say they plan to write “uncommitted” on their primary ballots in protest and will not vote for the Democrat in November.

That could spell serious trouble for Biden as a poll earlier this week showed him trailing Trump by a small margin in Michigan.

It is starting to settle in for the Biden Campaign, and the DNC, that they have a serious issue on their hands with Arab, Muslim voters in Michigan, and across the country.

For months misguided attempts at trying to win back support failed. Some of those attempts were horribly…

— Abed A. Ayoub (@aayoub) February 11, 2024

But it is already raising funds off Trump’s victory in South Carolina, CNN has reported.

Trump is “clearly positioned” to become the Republican Party’s presidential nominee, Biden’s re-election campaign said in an email to potential donors.

“I hope you’ll give me a chance to explain what that means for the stakes of this race and, if you’re able, consider making a contribution to my campaign,” the fundraising email continued, as reported by CNN.

Chants of “Nikki! Nikki! Nikki!” and “USA! USA!” broke out in Charleston, South Carolina, as Republican presidential hopeful Haley took the stage to speak after her loss in the state’s primary.

While some critics speculated she might bow out after getting trounced in her home state, Haley doubled down on her public promises to power through to Super Tuesday.

The scene at her primary watch party may have been relatively small but her supporters responded enthusiastically to her determination to continue, waving signs and ringing cow bells.

Speaking to CNN, Clyburn, a history-making political figure in South Carolina, argued that Trump’s criminal indictments are a good incentive for Haley to stick in the race for the Republican nomination.

“I don’t think that she should take herself out of it, especially if she has the resources,” Clyburn told the news outlet. “She should keep going. If I were in her place, that is what I would do.”

Clyburn said that Haley could get a boost not only from a Trump conviction but from other “embarrassments” he might face.

“What is going to happen if they call the bill and he’s not able to pay? There’s a lot of things that could happen, short of a conviction in a court on any kind of felonies,” Clyburn said.

“I think he could be even more embarrassed if people find out he cannot stand to pay this money that everybody thinks he has.”

When asked if he believed Haley could last beyond Super Tuesday, Clyburn admitted pessimism. “No I don’t,” he responded. “But there could be an extraordinary circumstance and that’s my point.”

When he assumed office in the 1990s, Representative Clyburn was the first Black politician to represent South Carolina in Congress since the 19th century.

Amid calls for Haley to suspend her bid for the Republican nomination, Betsy Ankney says the former UN ambassador intends to make her case to Americans for as long as she can.

“We’re placing our faith in the American people. We are willing to bet that they have a lot more courage than the political class and even the media have, who line up behind Trump even though they know what a disaster he is,” Ankney told CSPAN.

“If Republicans want to win, if Republicans want to save this country, we ask them to join us. We’ve got one shot to get this right.”

In her post-results speech in Charleston, Haley painted a portrait of the United States torn apart by political factions.

She accused her Republican rival Trump and Democratic President Biden of stoking divides and thereby encouraging the public to “fight” one another.

“One calls his fellow Americans fascists,” she said. “The other calls them vermin.”

She also described both Biden and Trump as equally unqualified options: “We can’t afford four more years of Biden’s failures or Trump’s lack of focus.”

“I’m grateful that today is not the end of our story,” she told her supporters, laying out her plans for the next week.

Haley said she is heading to Michigan on Sunday. The US state is holding its Republican primary on February 27.

“And we’re headed to the Super Tuesday states throughout all of next week,” she said. “We’ll keep fighting for America and we won’t rest until America wins.”

She says large numbers of Republican primary voters “want an alternative”.

“I said earlier this week that no matter what happens in South Carolina, I would continue to run for president,” she said.

“I’m a woman of my word,” she continued, drawing chants of “Nikki! Nikki!” from the crowd.

“I’m not giving up this fight when a majority of Americans disapprove of both Donald Trump and Joe Biden,” Haley added.

“South Carolina has spoken; we’re the fourth state to do so. In the next 10 days, another 21 states and territories will speak. They have the right to a real choice, not a Soviet-style election with only one candidate. And I have a duty to give them that choice.”

The former South Carolina governor has congratulated Trump on his victory.

“No matter the results, I love the people of our state,” she told her supporters in Charleston.

But Haley said she doesn’t believe Trump can beat Biden in the general election.

“It seems like our country is falling apart. But here’s the thing: America will come apart if we make the wrong choices. This has never been about me or my political future. We need to beat Joe Biden in November,” she said.

“I don’t believe Donald Trump can beat Joe Biden.”

At a ballroom podium in the historic city of Charleston, Haley prepares to speak to her whiplash loss in the South Carolina primary, announced only moments after the polls closed.

It is an important defeat for Haley, both symbolically and practically in the race for the Republican nomination. South Carolina is not only her home state but also has 50 delegates to award in the primary.

As Haley aims to continue campaigning until Super Tuesday, her camp is looking to maintain momentum – and find small victories in the night’s disappointing results by highlighting how close the results may be in certain areas, for example.

The South Carolina primary – the first primary race to unfold in the US South this election cycle – has come to a close but already, candidates are looking ahead to the next vote.

This Tuesday, February 27, both Republicans and Democrats are on the ballot for the Michigan primary, in a state with a significant population of union workers and Arab Americans, key constituencies.

As she cast her vote in Kiawah, South Carolina, on Saturday morning, Haley said she would depart for Michigan the following day.

“We’re headed to Michigan tomorrow morning. We’ll be campaigning there and then we’re headed to Super Tuesday states,” she said.

“That’s as far as I’ve thought, in terms of going forward. We’ve placed ad buys. We’ve put out the public schedule of where we’re going to be. So we’re going to keep on going.”

With November’s election looking more and more like it will be a rematch of the 2020 contest between Trump and Biden, the question of whether there should be an age limit for US presidents is again making headlines.

If elected, Biden would become the oldest sitting president in US history, a mantle he first claimed when he took office in 2021.

Trump would tie Biden for the record if he were to enter office next January at the age of 78.

Read more about the growing debate here.

US Representative Elise Stefanik, a staunch Trump ally in Congress, says the former president “made history” by sweeping all the primaries and caucuses so far.

Stefanik also added her voice to the growing chorus of Republican lawmakers urging Haley to suspend her campaign.

“Voters have spoken loudly and clearly – It is long past time to move on to the general election to defeat Joe Biden and elect President Trump,” she wrote on the social media platform X.

President Trump made history as he has swept every state in Republican primaries and caucuses!

Voters have spoken loudly and clearly – It is long past time to move on to the general election to defeat Joe Biden and elect President Trump.

— Elise Stefanik (@EliseStefanik) February 25, 2024

Surrounded by a who’s who of South Carolina politicians, Trump celebrated his win over his Republican rival Haley at a party for supporters in Columbia.

Here’s a look at the scene unfolding at the South Carolina State Fairgrounds, where Trump spoke earlier this evening.

Reporting from Charleston, South Carolina, Al Jazeera’s Shihab Rattansi noted that the Republican primary results appear to be “another blowout” in favour of Trump.

“In fact, [it’s] an unprecedented blowout if you look at the totality of the primaries and caucuses so far,” Rattansi said.

“It’s the first time that any politician has won all of the contests who isn’t actually the incumbent president.”