Republican Leaders Hope Field Will Thin After South Carolina

High-ranking Republicans are saying that presidential candidates who fall short of third place in South Carolina's pivotal primary race on Saturday should drop out of the race, as they'll not likely be able to keep the attention and momentum to continue their campaigns.

"It is clear there are three tickets coming out of South Carolina," Phil Cox, a former Republican Governors Association executive director, told Politico.  "It will become very difficult for anything beyond a close fourth-place finish to be able to keep putting gas in the tank and attract the kind of media attention necessary to keep going."

South Carolina has long been a moment of truth for Republican races, including former President George W. Bush's win over John McCain in 2000 and Ronald Reagan's win over former President George H.W. Bush proved pivotal in those races.

And the race could prove problematic for yet another member of the Bush family. Jeb Bush has rolled out both his brother, George W., and his mother, former first lady Barbara Bush, to campaign for him, but his polls remain in the single digits and far behind those of Marco Rubio.

If this happens, it could bring out party powerhouses such as former nominee Mitt Romney, who sources say wants a candidate that can defeat front-runners Donald Trump and Ted Cruz. Las Vegas casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, one of the party's biggest donors, has also refused to side publicly with any candidate, even though he's been seen for some time as a Rubio supporter.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich is another candidate not expected to do well in South Carolina, but he's already focusing on elections in his home state on March 15 and in neighboring Michigan a week earlier.

But Trump probably won't be easy to stop if he wins in South Carolina, McCain told Politico Friday, and he's concerned about the "coarse," divisive nature of the primary contests and their eventual impact on the Republican Party.

Related Stories:

• AP Poll: GOP Voters Say Donald Trump Can Win in November
• 14 Republican Governors Endorse Jeb Bush