Three Events, Three Winners

Democrats and Republicans alike participated in caucuses in Nevada on Saturday. And Republicans voted in a primary in South Carolina.

Three events, three different winners.

It was a split decision on the Republican side, where Mitt Romney won the Nevada caucus (even though he was largely unopposed there) and the resurgent ex-insurgent, John McCain, won the South Carolina primary.

The results may have had the effect of winnowing the Republican field a bit.

Rep. Duncan Hunter dropped out of the race last night. And there are questions about the plans of Rep. Ron Paul.

But the biggest name that may be leaving the campaign is Fred Thompson. His showing Saturday was dismal compared to his expectations.

Thompson was banking on a strong showing in South Carolina, but McCain has 33% and Mike Huckabee has 30% of the vote there with 97% of the precincts counted this morning. Thompson is a distant third with 16%.

In Nevada, 51% of Republicans gave their support to Romney. His nearest competitors were Paul with 14% and McCain with 13%.

Hillary Clinton had the support of 51% of Nevada's Democrats. Barack Obama was second with 45%. But Obama emerged with the edge in Nevada's convention delegates, 13 to 12.

So, in the race for Democratic delegates, Obama now has 38 and Clinton has 36. John Edwards is third with 18.

Among Republicans, Romney has 66 delegates, McCain has 38 delegates and Huckabee has 26. But despite Romney's nearly two-to-one advantage in the delegate count, John Dickerson writes in Slate that victory in South Carolina essentially makes McCain the "front runner."

What's next on the political calendar? South Carolina again. Only this time, it will be the Democrats who are in the spotlight as they hold their primary next Saturday, Jan. 26.

According to American Research Group, Obama has staked out a lead in South Carolina. The latest survey shows him at 45% while Clinton is second with 39%.

Although the individual numbers vary slightly, Obama has been in front consistently by 6 percentage points.

The Democratic candidates will hold a pre-South Carolina primary debate Monday night, starting at 8 p.m. Eastern time, on CNN. The debate will be held in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Republicans won't have another electoral contest until Jan. 29, when Florida's voters go to the polls. Giuliani has been leading in Florida, where independents can vote in either primary. His strongest challenger for Republican votes appears to be McCain, but his chief rival for independent votes is Thompson.

If Thompson chooses to drop out in the next week and a half, where will his supporters go?