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John McCain's victory in the South Carolina primary, although a narrow one, gives him crucial momentum in the race for the GOP nomination. His win has to be a concern for Mike Huckabee because the state has a lot of evangelical voters who were expected to vote in great numbers for him. Other states such as Florida are unlikely to be as friendly territory for the former governor of Arkansas. Though South Carolina has many evangelical voters who favoured Mike Huckabee, John McCain benefited from the high percentage of military vets who turned out to vote for him.

The disappointing result for Fred Thompson almost certainly puts him out of the race. Though he has yet to end his candidacy, many believe it is only a matter of time before he does so. As for Rudy Giuliani, it will be interesting to see how he does given that he has put great effort into winning the state of Florida, a state which awards all of its delegates to the winner. Without a good result in Florida, Rudy Giuliani will be in great trouble.

South Carolina is historically a very important state because since 1980 every winner of the South Carolina primary has gone on to win the Republican nomination. It also gives valuable momentum to the winning candidate. Though his candidacy appeared dead little more than a year ago, John McCain now appears to be gathering critical momentum. The race, though, is far from over. It is one of the most exciting races in a long time. Besides Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney is a well-financed and serious candidate and Rudy Giuliani will be as well if he succeeds in winning Florida.

Johh McCain was a serious contender for the presidency of the USA in 1980. His loss to President Bush in the South Carolina primary was the start of the end of his campaign to win the GOP nomination. He must be very excited about his win in 2008. Now that he is the perceived frontrunner, he needs to prepare for intensified attacks from his Republican opponents.

One issue that could be used in upcoming weeks against the senator from Arizona is his support for the immigration bill that would have granted amnesty to the many illegal immigrants in the USA. Another is his age. But the senator can point out that Ronald Reagan, one of the most popular American presidents of all time, was 69 years old when he assumed office.

Besides military vets, John McCain attracts many independents and democrats. His success among independent voters propelled him to victory in New Hampshire. At the same time, it has been suggested by many analysts that the Democratic party would love to see John McCain win the GOP nomination. One reason is that the independent voters who now support John McCain are more likely to vote for the Democratic candidate than the Republican in a presidential election. Another is that evangelical voters will not turn out in as great numbers to support John McCain as they did President Bush. This theory, though, is suspect because John McCain won the votes of a significant number of evangelical voters in South Carolina.

At this stage, John McCain is undeniably the Republican frontrunner. He can expect more attacks from opponents such as Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani. So far Mike Huckabee hasn't criticized the Arizona senator too much, but that may soon change. Though voters may claim to dislike negative campaigns, history shows that they are often effective. For that reason, it is increasingly likely that more attack ads will be used as the race for the GOP nomination continues.

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