President Trump revved up his base Monday in South Carolina, urging them to get behind Gov. Henry McMaster just hours before a GOP runoff election, saying he needed help to keep the winning streak going.

He also joked that his own reputation was on the line, although the jest had more than a trace of truth in it.

If Mr. McMaster lost, he said, the news media would call it a “humiliation” and “major setback” for the president.

The rally had all the trappings of Mr. Trump’s 2016 campaign events, including the crowd chanting “lock her up,” about Hillary Clinton, and “build the wall.”

Mr. Trump said they should start chanting “continue building the wall” because it is under construction.

The rally was a payback for Mr. McMaster, who was the first statewide elected official to endorse Mr. Trump in 2016.

The president’s approval rating hit a high of 45 percent last week in a Gallup poll, putting him on par with presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan at the same point in their presidencies.

His approval rating among Republicans hit 90 percent in the same poll.

Republican strategist Ford O’Connell said the president’s trip to South Carolina showed he rewards loyalty, but that message cuts both ways.

“If his power is this strong, he might as well use it to keep Republicans in line as well,” said Mr. O’Connell. “Hey, it is a good time to go around and show he can deliver.”

Read more from S.A. Miller at The Washington Times

Three contests into primary season, a simple truth is self-evident: Donald Trump is on track to become the Republican Party’s 2016 presidential nominee.

True, the brash billionaire won the South Carolina primary on Saturday with just 32.5 percent of the vote. And it’s still early. The vast majority of convention delegates remain up for grabs. But even with Florida Gov. Jeb Bush’s decision to drop out Saturday night after finishing a distant fourth, Mr. Trump can still succeed – and vacuum up delegates – by dividing and conquering.

The South Carolina exit poll tells the story. In a strongly religious state, Trump won both the evangelical and nonevangelical vote. He won among both modest-income and well-off voters. He won among the non-college-educated, and barely lost to Florida Sen. Marco Rubio – the surprise second-place finisher overall – among those with college degrees.

But the biggest shock to the Republican system comes in another poll number: the evident yearning for an outsider. When asked what is the best preparation for the presidency, 48 percent of South Carolina voters said being “from outside the political establishment” – and of those, 63 percent went for Trump, a first-time candidate for public office.

“What I don’t know is whether he can crack 50 percent in a two-person race” for the nomination, says Republican strategist Ford O’Connell.

Read more from Linda Feldmann at The Christian Science Monitor

The Hill asked pundits from both parties to predict the winners in today's South Carolina primary and Nevada caucus. Here's what they had to say.

South Carolina Republican primary:

Ford O'Connell

Winner: Trump

Unless something earth-shattering occurs between now and when the polls close in South Carolina, Trump will be the victor. Trump has led nearly every reliable public poll of Republican primary voters in the Palmetto State for the past 200-plus days and I just don't see that changing. As for who will finish second, the edge goes to Cruz over Rubio, given that South Carolina is 62 percent evangelical Christian on the Republican side and Cruz has invested more than any other candidate in the ground game. But should Rubio eclipse Cruz and capture the silver medal, that would be an ominous sign for the senator from Texas with the "SEC primary" looming on the horizon; also, the calls for Bush to exit the race will be deafening.

O'Connell is the chairman of CivicForumPAC, worked on John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign and is author of the book "Hail Mary: The 10-Step Playbook for Republican Recovery."

Read more at The Hill

Jeb Bush could be making his last stand today in South Carolina’s Republican presidential primary, as party insiders say the former Florida governor needs to finish third or better to press on in the race for the nomination.

Bush has embraced his family this week in South Carolina, where the name is popular, a drastic shift from the start of the campaign that reflects his attempt to gain traction. Another back-of-the-pack finish for Bush after his sixth-place showing in Iowa and a fourth in New Hampshire could spell disaster.

Bush — polling at 12 percent, behind Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio — led in early polls and held the party’s establishment lane that he’s now fighting over.

“Jeb’s future starts and ends with Marco Rubio,” said Republican strategist Ford O’Connell. “If Rubio ends up pulling off a Houdini act and finishes second, the calls for (Bush) to drop out will be louder than a heavy metal concert.”

The GOP wants to narrow the field of candidates to pull support from Trump, O’Connell said, and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley’s endorsement of Rubio this week signals Bush might not make the cut.

“That was a sign within the party’s mainstream that (Bush) doesn’t give it the best shot to win the nomination,” he said.

Read more from Brian Dowling at the Boston Herald

It’s usually a mistake to infer large messages about presidential primaries from the results in any one state, but sometimes a single primary can be very revealing about the future of individual candidates. That’s almost certainly the case with South Carolina and Ted Cruz.

The Texas senator, currently running second to Donald Trump in both national polls and in the most recent polls of the Palmetto State, is at his strongest among “very conservative” voters and Evangelical Christians. That means that Cruz should be turning in his best performances in the Deep South — the heart of the Bible Belt. If he can’t perform there, election analysts say, there’s good reason to assume that he will struggle in the rest of the country.

That’s why South Carolina looms particularly large for those watching the Cruz campaign. Like other states in the Deep South, it has a majority white, Protestant electorate with a large Evangelical element. His performance there is likely to be at least somewhat predictive of how Cruz does in the “Super Tuesday” primaries on March 1 — possibly the most important day on the calendar for his campaign. With 12 states voting, including Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia, it’s the largest block of Cruz-friendly states on the calendar.

“I think if Cruz underperforms in South Carolina, his campaign will be drinking Maalox before Super Tuesday,” said Republican strategist Ford O’Connell. “The next four weeks are paramount for the Cruz campaign. If they can’t pick up some W’s by then, it’s very hard to see how he can win the nomination.”

At minimum, what Cruz needs on Saturday, O’Connell said, is “a really strong showing coming out of South Carolina, so that even if Trump wins, the media is still talking about him.”

Read more from Rob Garver at The Fiscal Times

The unpredictability of polling in Nevada has left it unclear whether each party’s presumed presidential front-runner will pull off a victory.

And while Republican Donald Trump has been ahead in polls, strategists say Ted Cruz has shown success at mobilizing caucus supporters.

The timing of the contests could throw a wrench into Nevada’s results, as well, with the GOP caucuses scheduled for Tuesday, three days after the party’s South Carolina primary.

Nevada, which became an early-voting state in 2008, has dubbed itself the “first-in-the-West” caucuses.

Here’s a breakdown of how the Silver State’s contest works and what to watch for.

“The only person who can potentially top Trump in Nevada is Ted Cruz, just because he’s been demonstrating himself to be very effective with mobilizing in caucuses,” said Ford O’Connell, a GOP strategist who worked on John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign.

Marco Rubio, John Kasich and Jeb Bush are all competing for GOP establishment voters, and whoever among them emerges from South Carolina as the strongest might have some momentum going into Nevada.

“I think that the real race here between South Carolina and Nevada is who consistently finishes first among the mainstream candidates and whether or not Cruz is actually able to overcome Donald Trump in one of these two places,” O’Connell said.

Read more from Lisa Hagen at The Hill

For all the intensity and sharp exchanges viewers saw last Saturday night, the ninth debate between the Republican presidential hopeful changed very little among likely voters in South Carolina, which holds its primary next Saturday (Feb. 20).

According to the latest CBS tracking poll, Donald Trump leads among likely GOP primary voters with 42 percent, followed by Ted Cruz with 20 percent, and John Kasich and Marco Rubio tied for third with 15 percent each. 

In what could possibly spell disaster for Jeb Bush in the state where his father and brother won critical primary wins in 1988 and 2000 respectively, CBS found the Florida governor tied for fourth place with Ben Carson.

Neutral observers to whom I spoke after the debate, in fact, commented more on the rancorous nature of the televised encounter in Greenville, S.C., than on points scored by the six candidates.

“The debate was held at a peace center and there was nothing peaceful about it,” said veteran GOP consultant Ford O’Connell, who has no favorite in the presidential race, “In fact it got down right ornery at times.”

But, O’Connell quickly added, “When a debate descends into complete chaos like this one did at times, Trump wins simply because his supporters will stick with him through thick and thin. That doesn’t mean Trump gained any new supporters tonight, particularly with his 9/11 commentary.”

He added that “Rubio’s performance in Greenville will make voters quickly forget about his previous debate debacle and for him that is all that matters — Rubio just simply has to run faster than Bush and Kasich in the Palmetto State and I think he accomplished that tonight.” 

Read more from John Gizzi at Newsmax

Donald Trump, the businessman who's brought ferocity, flare and fireworks to the 2016 presidential race, can finally call himself a "winner" tonight.

After a tough second-place finish in the Iowa caucuses, the Republican presidential hopeful corrected the course of his campaign Tuesday with a victory in the first-in-the-nation primary.

His commanding win in the primary put him in a strong position as the race moves to South Carolina, where polls show he's well ahead.

"Now that he's won, the Trump train is back on track and the question for him is if he can parlay the momentum in New Hampshire into South Carolina," said veteran Republican strategist Ford O'Connell.

O'Connell warned that Trump's unconventional campaign style and shaky ground operation in South Carolina,and later voting states could prevent the leading GOP candidate from securing a winning streak. "In South Carolina, he still does not seem to invest in ground operations at all.

"I think not having that in South Carolina could hurt him and the reason is it's winner-take-all by congressional district," he said, adding that "Nevada could be problematic also because it's a caucus."

Read more from Gabby Morrongiello at The Washington Examiner

For once, Donald Trump was understated: “I guess the bromance is over.”

After Thursday night’s Republican presidential debate, it was also a statement of the obvious. Mr. Trump and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, for months acting like best friends even while vying for the same job, finally took off the gloves and went after each other. The end of the buddy act was inevitable – and instructive.

Trump showed that he could take a punch. And more important, he demonstrated a nimbleness and a disarming honesty that reinforce why he’s the Republican frontrunner. When challenged by Senator Cruz over his “New York values,” Trump didn’t deny that he once held socially liberal views. Instead, he came back with a stirring defense of his hometown, invoking New Yorkers’ resilience in the face of 9/11. Even Cruz applauded.

“This was without a doubt Trump's strongest debate performance,” says Republican strategist Ford O’Connell. “But Cruz showed he has the backbone and skills to go toe-to-toe with 'the Donald.’

Read more from Linda Feldmann at The Christian Science Monitor

Ted Cruz’s “birther issue” and Donald Trump’s “New York values” took center stage at the Republican debate Thursday night.

Those in attendance were treated to fiery clashes over immigration, foreign policy, and border controls on the Charleston, S.C., stage. 

The neutral observers I spoke to shortly thereafter judged no one a clear winner or loser, but agreed that Cruz and Trump provided the most drama and electricity of the evening.

Ford O’Connell, another seasoned GOP consultant with no horse in the 2016 contest, told me “there were three winners in this debate: Ted Cruz took it to Donald Trump, and Marco Rubio bested Ted Cruz.”

“The Trump/Cruz 'bromance' is over,” O'Connell said. “While Cruz got a much needed win on the birther issue, Trump backhanded him on 'New York values' by invoking 9/11. Clearly Cruz was playing for a much-needed victory in Iowa, while Trump was playing to a national audience. This was without a doubt Trump's strongest debate performance, but Cruz showed he has the backbone and skills to go toe-to-toe with The Donald."

Obradovich, O’Connell and Rotterman all agreed that Florida Sen. Marco Rubio also came out of Charleston a winner on Tuesday. In Obradovich’s words, “Rubio showed more fire than in previous debates and left a few scorch marks on ‘Register/Bloomberg Iowa Poll’ leader Cruz over taxes and claims and flip-flopping. Rubio’s in a tight race with Ben Carson for the third-place ticket out of Iowa, so his performance may help him in the caucuses.”

Read more from John Gizzi at Newsmax