10:09PM - Continetti fires off a good line:"Looks like Romney may have to come up with a new alloy from which to forge his fourth-place South Carolina medal ... copper, perhaps?" Ba da boom. - TOM BEVAN

10:03PM - The McCain camp emailed out the text of the Senator's remarks a few minutes before he stepped to the podium, and it's painfully obvious that he's reading this one off the prompter. - TOM BEVAN

10:01PM - SC GOP Chair Katon Dawson just issued the following statement:

"Senator John McCain won a historic victory tonight. But tonight in South Carolina there are no losers. We are extremely grateful for the sacrifices of all of our Republican candidates who met face-to-face with our voters to discuss the most important issues facing our nation. Republican presidential candidates who campaigned to win our First-in-the-South Republican Presidential Primary share the kind of optimism about America's future that voters will respond to across our country.

"I'm confident we'll be able to trust our Party's eventual nominee for president to grow our economy, make healthcare more affordable, and keep our families safe and secure. I look forward to campaigning hard to elect our eventual nominee to the White House in November."

And now the circus moves on to Florida. - TOM BEVAN

9:52PM - Jonah Goldberg thinks this coming week would be the best time for McCain to give an "I'm One of You" speeches to conservatives. - BLAKE DVORAK

9:35PM - According to exits, 60% of S.C. voters were evangelical. Huckabee got 43%, McCain and Thompson combined got 42%. That probably says something. - BLAKE DVORAK

9:33PM - Two questions leap to mind: 1) Will McCain pull a Romney and cut in on Huckabee's speech? Answer: not in a hundred years. 2) If Fred killed Huck tonight among evangelicals, if Fred drops out, does that help boost Huck the most in Florida where he's only 6 points back of McCain? Answer: we don't know. - TOM BEVAN.

9:22PM - AP, Fox, MSNBC have all called it for McCain. Finally. - TOM BEVAN

9:17PM - As Jonathan Martin notes, the counties of Greenville and Spartanburg, upstate conservative bastions, which the networks have been waiting on, are almost all in. Huckabee holds a lead in both (29-26 in Greenville and 34-27 in Spartanburg), but it doesn't look like it'll be enough. - BLAKE DVORAK

9:10PM - This race is like molasses. McCain's margin is up to 14,000 votes, with 78% reporting. Hard to see how it doesn't get called for McCain at some point very soon. - TOM BEVAN

8:40PM - With nearly half the vote in, still no call. McCain's margin over Huckabee is down to roughly 8,200 votes, or 4%. - TOM BEVAN

8:26PM - Via Ben Smith, here's the Nevada Democratic Party's statement on the delegate confusion:

Statement by Nevada Democratic Party Chair Jill Derby
Regarding the Nevada Caucus

(Las Vegas, NV) "Today, two out of three Nevadans who caucused chose a Democrat instead of a Republican for president. That is an overwhelming majority vote for a new direction. Just like in Iowa, what was awarded today were delegates to the County Convention. No national convention delegates were awarded. The calculations of national convention delegates being circulated are based upon an assumption that delegate preferences will remain the same between now and April 2008. We look forward to our county and state conventions where we will choose the delegates for the nominee that Nevadans support."

Funny that the campaigns themselves don't even know what's going on. - BLAKE DVORAK

8:25PM - LAS VEGAS -- Fresh off a 5.5% win in Nevada, Clinton's campaign team is clearly thrilled. Four hours after networks called it for Clinton, her campaign has sent out a memo from two top advisers, a round-up of press clips, an announcement of an added event to thank staff and supporters and a statement on the victory. At what point does their glee become overkill? - REID WILSON

8:07PM - Will Fred get third or fourth? Whichever, that's not what he set out to do. But with rumors flying all day, fueled by Fred's own comments, he didn't drop out in the speech he just gave. - BLAKE DVORAK

7:36PM - Who won more delegates today in Nevada? Might be Obama. See here, here, and here. - TOM BEVAN

7:22 - Another exit poll observation: Fred did not do well. I have him at just 15%. That's fourth place in the exit poll sample - behind Romney (though the difference between them is not statistically significant). JAY COST

7:12 - SC GOP Exit Poll data available here. I love this stuff. Unlike the media polls, it gives you some great cross-tabs so you can really learn who is getting behind whom. Initial impression: McCain wins the same ideological groups he won in NH: "Somewhat Liberal," "Moderate," "Somewhat Conservative." He also split Republicans with Huckabee, 30% to 29%. JAY COST

7:11PM - Duncan Hunter is out. - BLAKE DVORAK

7:01PM - Fox reports exits are McCain 32, Huckabee 27 but race still too close to call. Barone says they're waiting for tabulated vote to confirm exits. - TOM BEVAN

6:59PM - Polls close in one minute. Geraghty's scoop on latest round of exits: McCain +6. We'll know soon enough. - TOM BEVAN

6:47PM - The Edwards campaign released this statement:

Congratulations to Senator Clinton for her win in Nevada. Our campaign is very grateful to all those who demonstrated the loyalty and dedication to stand up for John Edwards in the face of very difficult circumstances and long odds, including our brothers and sisters in Nevada from the Carpenters, Steelworkers, Transport Workers, and Communications Workers of America....

The race to the nomination is a marathon and not a sprint, and we're committed to making sure the voices of all the voters in the remaining 47 states are heard. The nomination won't be decided by win-loss records, but by delegates, and we're ready to fight for every delegate. Saving the middle class is going to be an epic battle, and that's a fight John Edwards is ready for.

- BLAKE DVORAK

6:37PM - Rudy to Wolf Blitzer just minutes ago: "We believe Florida is Rudy country...We've had Florida to ourselves for about 10 days....We have a heck of an organization in Florida...We're going to win in Florida, and that will push us right to the top in terms of winning the nomination." That's still the plan, anyway. - TOM BEVAN

5:58PM - 4% for John Edwards? That's a huge disappointment. So what now for Edwards, who has to suffer through a week in the wilderness with no press coverage and no money bump before making his way to South Carolina, where polls show him running 30+ points behind the frontrunner? Edwards has said he will stick it out through February 5th, but his poor showing today certainly hinders his ability to play a big role - perhaps even as a kingmaker - from here on out. - TOM BEVAN

5:40PM - So is State Rep Tracey Edge, working on behalf of McCain, trying to keep the polls open in Horry County, as Reid mentioned? Greg Sargent reports that maybe not:

I just checked in with McCain's South Carolina spokesperson B.J. Boling. He said: "Representative Edge did not have all the necessary information," he told me. "Whether the McCain will take any action will be known shortly."

Apparently McCain lawyers are holed up examining the situation to see what, if anything, can be done. The success or failure of such an effort could conceivably impact the outcome.

- BLAKE DVORAK

5:28PM - LAS VEGAS -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid just issued a statement congratulating the Nevada Democratic Party on successful caucuses and huge turnout. The party now estimates more than 114,000 caucusers turned out with 88% of the vote in, including 69 in Reid's home town of Searchlight, about an hour south of Las Vegas. - REID WILSON

5:22PM - Geraghty has some goodies on the SC exits that look a bit ominous for McCain. - TOM BEVAN

5:19PM - LAS VEGAS -- The Clinton campaign just released a strategy memo from campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle and top strategist Mark Penn. "Today we won a huge victory by overcoming institutional hurdles and one of the worst negative ads in recent memory," the memo begins. Clinton is up about 5.6 points on Obama with 89% reporting. - REID WILSON

5:07PM - LAS VEGAS - After her win here, Hillary Clinton staffers vacated the Cashman Center premises after hearing their candidate would address supporters at the Planet Hollywood hotel and casino on the center Strip. Reporters were given just a few minutes notice of the unplanned stop. - REID WILSON

5:05PM - Not only is Rep. Edge seeking to keep the polls open, he wants heads to roll for today's screw up. "I guess I'm just stunned because the crew in that office only has to do the job twice a year and they can't get it done,'' Edge told the Myrtle Beach Sun, adding, "I want her fired, I'm tired of it.'' - TOM BEVAN

5:03PM - LAS VEGAS - Looking across the country, CNN reports Myrtle Beach State Rep. Tracey Edge, a top backer of Senator John McCain, is looking for a judge to order Horry County polls to stay open extra hours. As Tom mentioned earlier, machine problems have hampered voting in the northern coast county, which went for heavily for McCain when he ran in 2000. - REID WILSON

5:00PM - Exit interviews from Orangeburg and Charleston are mixed, but appear to be slightly favorable for McCain. - TOM BEVAN

4:49PM - LAS VEGAS - Initial turnout reports from the Nevada Democratic Party suggest turnout is at higher levels than anyone expected. With 84% of precincts reporting, more than 107,000 people had showed up to caucus. Harry Reid had suggested, many thought too optimistically, that turnout would reach 100,000 - REID WILSON

4:42PM - Two points on Nevada: 1.) According to entrance polls, Clinton won the Hispanic battle big time (64-26); and 2.) the Culinary Workers Union, with their folks at the casinos, couldn't tip it apparently. - BLAKE DVORAK

4:38PM - According to the latest update from SC Politics, weather continues to worsen. Light snow has been reported in the northern part of the state in Greenville and Rock Hill, and SC Politics says "the snow line is expected to drop down across the state throughout the afternoon, reaching as far south as Columbia. About an inch is expected in the Midlands and up to three inches in the Upstate." - TOM BEVAN

4:30PM "It was a nightmare," said Lakewood, S.C., poll worker Ruth McConnell about the malfunctioning machines. "We had a lot of angry people. I don't blame them." - BLAKE DVORAK

4:27 PM - LAS VEGAS - Edwards campaign manager David Bonior made the rounds earlier today. Terry McAuliffe is hysterically happy here at the Cashman Center, and senior Clinton adviser Ann Lewis is talking with press as well. Noticably absent: any Obama surrogates. - REID WILSON

4:25 PM - If the race in SC is truly a coin toss between McCain and Huck, the fact that 80-90% of election machines in Horry County malfunctioned this morning and weren't up again until the afternoon - as the weather continued to worsen throughout the day - is a piece of bad luck for John McCain. - TOM BEVAN

4:15PM LAS VEGAS - Clinton's big margins in Clark County -- campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe reports she won six of the nine at-large caucus sites on the Strip -- are largely to the credit of her Nevada chairman, Clark County Commission chair Rory Reid. "Today, he's the greatest state chair in America," McAuliffe said. "It's a huge win. Big win for us." He refused to speculate on the campaign's chances in South Carolina: "I'm confident of our organization everywhere. I want to just savor today." - REID WILSON

4:12 PM - A silver lining for Obama - the entrance poll found that 16% of the NV Dem electorate was African American. They broke +63% for Obama. We saw something similar to this in MI. And the recent national polls show Obama winning big among African American voters. This is further evidence of that strength. JAY COST

4:04PM - Fox News is on the verge of calling Nevada for Clinton, and Reid reports that Terry McAuliffe is celebrating in the Vegas convention hall. Word is CBS News has called it for Clinton. (UPDATE: NBC has called it now, too.) - TOM BEVAN

3:59 PM - The totals as they come through live are interesting. Clinton is doing very well in Clark County. Obama has a solid lead in Washoe County (where Reno is). Carson City is split. Obama is generally doing well in the out counties. But it looks like Clark will make the difference for Clinton. JAY COST

3:56PM - Reid is in the convention hall in Las Vegas and has up to the minute numbers on the Dems over at Politics Nation. - TOM BEVAN

3:49 PM - A few moments ago, there was a big spike in Clinton's numbers as they came scrolling through on CNN. The source of it seems to be Clark County, where Las Vegas is. That is the key result to watch. JAY COST

3:41PM These CNN entrance polls certainly look good for Clinton, but we'll have to wait and see how they look after being filtered through the caucus process. - TOM BEVAN

3:30PM How's the weather in South Carolina? Looks awful. -BLAKE DVORAK

3:20PM From CBS News, Fred Thompson was with wife Jeri in Columbia:

"I've always said I have to do very well here, there's no question about that and I stand by that," he said. "We'll have to see what the results are tonight, and it won't be too much longer."

With his wife Jeri at his side, he said he was optimistic about his chances.

"It just feels wonderful," he said. "We've been doing what we want to do, saying what we want to say the way we want to say it, and being who we are."

When asked about the future, Thompson said he'd have to wait until after the primary. "My plans for Monday?" he said. "It depends on tonight. We'll see."

Will he or won't he is perhaps second biggest question following tonight's results, after of course, Who will win? - BLAKE DVORAK

2:45PM Here's Mitt on winning the Nevada caucuses:

"Today, the people of Nevada voted for change in Washington. For far too long, our leaders have promised to take the action necessary to build a stronger America, and still the people of Nevada and all across this country are waiting. Whether it is reforming health care, making America energy independent or securing the border, the American people have been promised much and are now ready for change.

"The need for change is even more apparent today as our economy faces challenges both here at home and abroad. For decades, we have talked about the long-term economic challenges confronting our country but still the tax burden is too high, business is stifled by regulations and more money goes to defending against junk lawsuits than promoting research and innovation. Now, Washington must act and take the steps necessary to strengthen our economy. With a career spent turning around businesses, creating jobs and imposing fiscal discipline, I am ready to get my hands on Washington and turn it inside out."

- BLAKE DVORAK