SPARTANBURG: Democrat Hillary Clinton breathed life into her sluggish campaign with a victory over Bernie Sanders in Nevada, while Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump grabbed a big win in the South Carolina primary.

The wins for the brash billionaire and the former US secretary of state give them a major boost heading into the crucial next phase of the White House race — Super Tuesday on March 1, when about a dozen states go to the polls. But the rough-and-tumble campaign claimed another victim when former Florida governor Jeb Bush — brother and son to two US presidents — dropped out of the race after another poor showing.

In South Carolina, the 69-year-old Trump captured about a third of the votes, with all of the precincts reporting. His supporters erupted in a roar when CNN called the contest in his favor — his second win of the nominations race after New Hampshire and an important test of the strength of his bid to succeed President Barack Obama.

“There is nothing easy about running for president, I can tell you,” Trump told his victory party in Spartanburg. “It’s tough, it’s nasty. It’s mean. It’s vicious. It’s beautiful.”

“When you win, it’s beautiful.”

After several nail-biting hours, final results showed Florida Senator Marco Rubio in second place in the Republican contest with 22.5 percent of the vote, narrowly ahead of Texas Senator Ted Cruz, who had 22.3 percent.