Trump wins Horry, Georgetown counties in SC primary

New York businessman Donald Trump handily won Horry County in Saturday’s Republican primary, capturing nearly half of all votes cast.

Trump finished with 49.01 percent of the vote, and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio nudged out U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz to place second in the county, according to unofficial results.

Rubio came away with 17.80 percent of the vote in Horry County, followed by Cruz with 15.75 percent, Ohio Gov. John Kasich with 6.36 percent, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush had 5.86 percent, and Ben Carson received 4.89 percent. Bush dropped out of the race less than two hours after the polls closed in South Carolina.

In Georgetown County, Trump won with 40.19 percent of the vote, followed by Rubio with 23.43 percent, Cruz placed third with 13.84 percent, Kasich ran fourth with 8.90 percent, Bush had 8.34 percent, followed by Carson with 5.30 percent.

The six candidates vying for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination all visited the Myrtle Beach area in the weeks prior to Saturday’s primary. Radio and TV ads filled the local airways with positive and negative ads and telephones rang off the hook with pleas from supporters to vote for their candidates.

Many volunteers campaigned door-to-door, and campaign signs sprang up along public area roadways as well as larger signs on private property.

Reese Boyd III, Horry County GOP State Executive Committeeman, said Trump’s win locally is a reflection of the support he received statewide and his broad base of support across the Republican Party nationally.

Boyd said he was confident that a Republican would beat the eventual Democratic nominee in the November general election, no matter who the GOP ultimately selects.

“I think any of the Republican candidates would be far superior for the future of this country over either of the Democratic nominees,” Boyd said.

“None of our candidates are socialists or under investigation by the FBI. That may not be saying much, but it’s true,” Boyd said.

Sandy Martin, director of Horry County Registration and Elections, said turnout was “pretty good for a primary.”

Robert Rabon, Horry County Republican Party chairman, predicted a strong turnout of 45,000 ballots cast. After the 2,711 absentee ballots were counted, along with votes from 127 precincts, the total votes cast in Horry County was 54,091, more than 26 percent.

That’s more than the 39,600 votes cast in the 2012 Republican presidential primary, Rabon said.

More than 1,200 voters turned out to cast ballots at the Myrtle Beach Fire Training Station off Harrelson Boulevard before 5 p.m., and at one point the wait line stretched into the parking lot. More than 500 voters showed up at the Salem Methodist Church off S.C. 90 in Conway before noon, and 600 votes were cast at the Windy Hills fire station in North Myrtle Beach.

Trump has consistently led in South Carolina polls by a wide margin since shortly after he announced his candidacy in June, and drew thousands of supporters to rallies held in the Grand Strand area this week and in December.

Trump was popular among Horry County voters because he spoke to their frustration with politicians on the state and federal level, Rabon said.

“There’s a lot of people here who feel like they were left out of the loop, and the majority of people feel that President Trump will help Horry County. They’re tired of Washington and not being paid attention to,” Rabon said.

Rubio’s strong showing in Horry County was likely due to several Grand Strand campaign appearances by the candidate in the final days before the primary, where attendees said he electrified the crowd.

Rubio also received key endorsements from Gov. Nikki Haley, U.S. Sen. Tim Scott and U.S. Rep. Trey Gowdy, however the freshman senator’s support of amnesty for illegal immigrants was an obstacle he couldn’t overcome with conservative Republican voters.

Voters enthusiastically supported Trump’s message of strengthening border security by building a wall and sending Mexico the bill, standing strong against terrorism threats from ISIS, and eliminating Obamacare.

Sally Howard, chair emeritus of the Horry County Democratic Party, was happy with Trump’s win and expressed confidence that her candidate, Hillary Clinton, would soundly defeat him in November.

“I think we are sitting in a really good position for Hillary to be the next president,” Howard said. “The GOP has just become so extreme, from Newt Gingrich four years [ago] to now. It used to be that South Carolina was a real predictor of Republican races, but these have skewered it.”

This story was originally published February 20, 2016 at 10:32 PM with the headline "Trump wins Horry, Georgetown counties in SC primary."