MANCHESTER, N.H.—Now officially a winner after clinching New Hampshire, Donald Trump faces a fresh test for his once-improbable campaign as the Republican presidential race careens into more conservative territory in South Carolina.
The billionaire political novice posted a decisive victory in the nation’s first primary, leaving in his wake a field of Republicans struggling to show staying power after trailing so far behind. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, bruised from a demoralizing sixth-place finish, was expected to bow out of the race, and Carly Fiorina, who finished a distant seventh, did depart.
Restive Democrats had their own act of anti-establishment defiance, lining up behind Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders while delivering a New Hampshire rejection of Hillary Clinton’s second bid for the White House.
With no clear rival to Trump and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz for the Republicans, the candidates headed south Wednesday with little clarity about a nomination battle that seemed likely to stretch into the spring. But Trump wasn’t publicly choosing among his opponents.
“I think they’re all really potential threats,” Trump said on MSNBC. “But I’m OK at handling threats.”
