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Donald Trump holds a broad 16-point lead among those likely to vote in South Carolina’s Republican primary this Saturday, according to a new CNN/ORC Poll. Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton tops Bernie Sanders by 18 points in the state’s Democratic primary, which will be held a week later.

After debate, Trump still tops SC GOP presidential race

Donald Trump still is leading the S.C. Republican presidential race after the weekend’s explosive GOP debate in Greenville.

But the race for second place in Saturday’s primary appears to be narrowing.

Grading the Republicans on S.C. Debate

The six remaining Republican presidential candidates met over the weekend for a debate in South Carolina, and the reviews seem to suggest that former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush helped his campaign the most and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio also turned in a far better performance than he did in New Hampshire. Here’s how The Hill wrote up the Bush performance, after labeling him a “winner” of the event:

GOP debate winners and losers

Bush delivered his best debate performance when he needed it most.

He stood up to Trump ... Read More >>

The CBS News Battleground Tracker poll shows that Donald Trump keeps a large lead in South Carolina, bolstered by support from conservatives and also from evangelical voters, who make up a large share of the electorate here.

After the frenetic one-two step of the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary, the Republican presidential contest zooms to South Carolina, a state that typically favors establishment candidates. But this year, voters’ attention is tuned to Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, the victors of the early contests—and candidates who have alarmed the party by bucking the establishment order.

It was an appropriately lively debate for a Saturday night. The Republican candidates were vicious to one another, the crowd was riled up, and the most important story of the evening — the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia — was largely drowned out in the noise.

GOP debate winners and losers

The final Republican debate before the crucial South Carolina primary was perhaps the rowdiest to date, with intense verbal firefights erupting between Donald Trump and Jeb Bush in particular — though Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio got in on the action too.