Trump wins South Carolina primary, closes in on GOP nomination

Charleston (South Carolina): Former US president Donald Trump was projected to win the crucial South Carolina primary, beating his Indian-American rival and former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, major American media outlets said minutes after the closing of the polls Saturday.

This gives Trump four straight wins in the Republican presidential primaries -- Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina, and a decisive edge over Haley. The win is special for Trump as Haley was the two-term governor of South Carolina.

Major media networks report that with this victory, Trump will also win all 29 of the state's at-large delegates.

The remaining 21 delegates will be awarded based on the Congressional district results, with three delegates awarded to the winner in each of the state's seven districts, CNN said.

A candidate needs 1,215 delegates to bag the party's nomination. So far Haley has won 17 delegates and Trump has won 92.

"I just won the South Carolina primary," Trump said in his victory speech in Columbia, South Carolina, soon after, as initial reports said that Trump was leading by Haley by nearly 30 percent.

There was no immediate reaction from Haley, who was initially scheduled to speak at 8 pm local time.