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John McCain has edged out Mike Huckabee to win the Republican primary in South Carolina – where his previous presidential campaign came off the rails eight years ago.

A narrow victory by a margin of 33 to 30 per cent was swiftly hailed as the turning point in a Republican race which has been shrouded in a fog of confusion after the early contests this month.

Mr McCain is emerging from South Carolina with a credible claim to be the national frontrunner – and a candidate who hopes to put back together the coalition built by Ronald Reagan which has begun to fracture in recent years.

At a party for supporters in Charleston he focused on many of the former president's core themes, seeking to overcome lingering suspicion towards him among some sections of the party.

"I seek the nomination of our party," he said, "because I'm as confident today as I was when I first entered public life as a foot soldier in the Reagan Revolution that the principles of the Republican Party – our confidence in the good sense and resourcefulness of free people – are always in America's best interests."

He ended his speech with two references to God – a gesture, perhaps, towards the Christian conservative voters among whom he has weak support.

But Mr McCain, who made a remarkable come-back to win New Hampshire last week, needed no prompting about the significance of his second victory in this presidential race.

"You and I are aware that for the past 28 years the winner of the South Carolinian primary has been the nominee of our party," he said, as the rest of his sentence was drowned out by chants of "Mac is back!, Mac is back!"

He heads on to the Florida primary on January 29 braced for another tight fight against Mitt Romney, who strolled to a comfortable win in the Nevada caucuses, as well as Mr Huckabee and Rudy Giuliani.

"We have a long ways to go," he said, but predicted he would win Florida and adding: "we are well on our way already”.

Mr McCain will savour his victory in South Carolina, the scene of an infamously bitter battle with George Bush in 2000 which he ultimately lost after being smeared with false allegations. "It took us a while," he said, "but what is eight years among friends?"

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