The win was hard-fought and surprisingly close: Polls a little over a month ago gave Mrs. Clinton a more than 20-point lead over Bernie Sanders. …NYT

It was a lead which, in the end, settled at a 5-point win for Clinton according to the Post.

The Bush family (motto: “You go to war; I go to the bank”) seems to have been retired, probably to the glee of many who look forward to watching the GOP deal with Trumpery. Rubio and Cruz pulled identical results from the ranks of the defeated, both of them some 10 points behind The Donald.

The good news is that Mr. Trump’s appeal among young voters and registered Republicans appears to be waning. Mr. Bush was just the first to acknowledge that a swift winnowing of the field is crucial if establishment Republicans hope to advance an alternative to Mr. Trump, a candidate whose fabricated positions and xenophobia would throw the party, and potentially the nation, into chaos. …NYT

On the Democratic side, the slim Clinton lead depends on African-American voters.

Exit polls showed Mrs. Clinton had solid support among African-Americans, women and people who would like to see President Barack Obama’s policies continued. Mr. Sanders won among Latino voters, youth and independents, a sign of the challenges awaiting Mrs. Clinton as she looks to build momentum heading into Super Tuesday contests on March 1. …NYT

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What’s next? Well, on the GOP side, as Jonathan Chait points out, last night’s results could signal an end for Ted Cruz’s aspirations — at least during this race.

Cruz has seen his constituency — designed to appeal to “libertarian” and “Tea Party” — voters narrowed to evangelical Christians only, and he has failed to gain a quarter of the vote in a heavily evangelical state. …JonathanChait,NYMag

As for Marco Rubio, everything suggested he could clean up in South Carolina. But he didn’t. Cruz’s performance was, at best, a flop. For Rubio, who was seen as a solution to the Trump invasion, the loss of that southern state is closer to a disaster.

South Carolina has a nearly-ideal combination of characteristics he needs to surpass Donald Trump. It is a religious, Southern state, ill-suited for Trump’s secular appeal. It is a hawkish and pro-military, making it well-suited to Rubio’s belligerent neoconservatism, and the perfect place to reject Trump’s attacks on George W. Bush’s foreign policy record. And it is also traditionally a hierarchical state, where voters take their cues from party elites.

That latter quality is what has made the state a traditional firewall for the establishment after Iowa and New Hampshire elevate insurgent candidates. And the state’s establishment lined up fully behind Rubio here. …JonathanChait,NYMag

Didn’t turn out that way.
Cross posted from Prairie Weather