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Senator John McCain of Arizona beat former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee in South Carolina's Republican primary Saturday, according to preliminary results.

With 97 percent of precincts reporting, McCain has won 33 percent of the votes, beating former Governor Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, who grabbed 30 percent of the votes.

Huckabee has conceded his defeat and congratulated McCain.

Former Senator of Tennessee Fred Thompson and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney came in 3rd and 4th places, with 16 percent and 15 percent of votes each.

The state's Grand Old Party (GOP) primary voters have picked their party's eventual nominee in every election since 1980, but with the race so volatile, that may not hold true this year.

McCain said his victory in the South Carolina primary is an evidence that his campaign "can carry right through" Florida into the Super Tuesday on Feb. 5, when 22 states hold primary elections.

But he cautioned that there is still "a long way to go."

The results also mark a dramatic reversal of fortune for McCain in South Carolina, who was defeated here in 2000 in his unsuccessful bid against George W. Bush in a campaign marked by negative and personal attacks on the senator's personal life and professional record.

Despite strong support among the state's evangelical voting bloc and efforts from outside groups on his behalf, Huckabee was unable to pull out a win.

He heads to Florida's Jan. 29 primary in a weakened position, unable to prove that he can win Republican votes outside of his evangelical base.

Thompson put forth his most energized campaign effort in the Palmetto State but to no avail.

He was poised to take a distant third-place showing, leaving his path to the nomination unclear, if not unfeasible at this point.

The victory gives McCain real momentum, but GOP race is far from clear.

In another Republican race on the same day, Mitt Romney easily won the Nevada Republican caucuses, adding his wins to three, including Michigan and Wyoming caucuses.

Huckabee took the Iowa caucuses, the first nominating contest of the year.

Amy Walter, editor in chief of The Hotline, a political newsletter, said McCain and Romney should be considered the front-runners for now.

However, "I don't think anybody believes it's over," Walter said.