South Carolina, Nevada cast votes in close contest

In South Carolina, Republicans John McCain and Mike Huckabee are battling for the lead in a race focused on economic worries, while Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson hope to shove their way to the top in a state where Republicans have a history as kingmakers.

Since 1980, the Republican winner in the South Carolina primary has gone on to capture the nomination. Voting ends at 7 pm EST, with results expected soon afterward.

“I’m like a lot of people in America tonight. I’m a guy over 50 looking for a job. I hope I get the hire,” Huckabee told supporters at a Friday night rally at the University of South Carolina in Columbia.

In Nevada, Democratic rivals Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are waging another tight duel complicated by uncertainties about turnout. In 2004, only 9,000 Democrats participated in Nevada’s caucuses, and no one knows how many will show up this time.

Republicans also vote in Nevada, but most Republican candidates have focused their attention on the South Carolina showdown. Republican results in Nevada are expected after 3 pm EST, with Democratic results expected a few hours later.

The two states are the next battlegrounds in a seesawing race to choose candidates for November’s election to succeed President George W Bush. No one in either party has claimed the role of favourite, with the first five major contests producing five different winners.

For the winners on Saturday, the prize is a fresh jolt of energy in a White House race where momentum has been short-lived.

The Republican contenders head next to Florida for its January 29 primary, while Democrats focus on South Carolina’s January 26 primary. Both parties then turn their attention to the critical February 5 “Super Tuesday” round of 22 state contests.

Huckabee, a Baptist minister who won in Iowa, has been reminding South Carolina crowds of his Southern roots and hopes to make inroads with the state’s large bloc of evangelicals, the group that fueled his rise in Iowa.

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