The South Carolina hurdle proved too big for Jeb Bush, who suspended his campaign Saturday night.
"It wasn't his time, that's all. He's a very capable person. It just wasn't his time," Donald Trump said in response.
For the five candidates remaining, the race goes on, and sights are now set on Super Tuesday.
"They can only be in one place at one time, so they've got to be very judicious and strategic about the way they're going to hit those various states," said political analyst Seth McKee.
Fourteen states will be in play for the Republicans. The big prize is Texas, with 155 delegates.
"We would expect Cruz to do very well in Texas for sure, but we'll have to see if he has any more pull in some of these southern states where he should be competitive with Rubio," McKee said. "Trump just looms large over this whole race."
Fresh off his win in South Carolina, Trump is feeling optimistic.
"When you win it's beautiful," Trump said. "We're going to start winning for our country. We're going to start winning."
But the attacks are coming thick and fast.
"It is now apparent that the only campaign that can beat Donald Trump and that has beaten Donald Trump is our campaign," said Sen. Ted Cruz.
Trump got about a third of the vote in South Carolina, with the other two thirds splintered between five candidates.
"You do the math fairly quickly and you realize that if this was a more traditional and narrower race, the results would be different," said Sen. Marco Rubio.
Trump's third of the vote was enough to win him all 50 delegates from the Palmetto State, putting him well ahead in the delegate count at this early stage. A total of 1,237 delegates are needed to clinch the nomination. More than half of those are up for grabs on Super Tuesday.
"When you think about someone like a Kasich, a Ben Carson, they should be shut out in some of those states," McKee said.
That would lead Trump, Cruz and Rubio in a three horse race.
"I am expecting Donald Trump to be the nominee, but he's got to win it clearly in the primary and not at the National Convention," said Carl Tepper, chairman of the Lubbock County Republican Party. "If it goes to the National Convention, there is a chance it will be taken from him."
Trump says he doesn't think the nomination race will go all the way to the Convention.
"I think I'm doing better than that," Trump said. "And so far, you know, I'm really on my way."
