CHARLESTON, South Carolina (AP):

Republican presidential candidates rallied to bolster their standing ahead of South Carolina's primary after Mitt Romney's Michigan win deepened uncertainty in an already wide-open race. Democrats Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama, meanwhile, set aside their dispute on racial issues as they pressed for votes in their next crucial contest in Nevada.

In South Carolina, Mike Huckabee, who won in Iowa, and John McCain, who took New Hampshire, were under increased pressure to show results in the American South's first primary Saturday, after Romney's win in Michigan left the Republican contest wide open.

''I'm not making predictions about what's going to happen in every other state, but I'm feeling pretty darn good at this point,'' said Romney, a former Massachusetts governor. Anything short of victory would have left his campaign on the ropes, after his losses in Iowa and New Hampshire.

Of South Carolina poll-leader McCain, Romney said: ''We'll give him a run for his money.''