This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Greenville, S.C. • Republican White House hopefuls insisted that President Barack Obama step aside and let his successor nominate the next Supreme Court justice in a raucous Saturday night debate that also featured harshly personal jousting over immigration and foreign policy.

The debate was shaken by the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia hours before the candidates took the stage. Among the contenders, only Jeb Bush said Obama had "every right" to nominate a justice during his final year in office. The former Florida governor said the presidency must be a strong office — though he added that he didn't expect Obama to pick a candidate who could win consensus support.

The five other candidates on the stage urged the Republican-led Senate to block any attempts by the president to get his third nominee on the court.

"It's up to Mitch McConnell and everybody else to stop it," Donald Trump said. "It's called delay, delay, delay."

A debate that began with a somber moment of silence for Scalia devolved quickly into fighting between Trump and Bush, then between Trump and Cruz. The exchanges highlighted the bad blood between the billionaire businessman and his rivals as the race turns to South Carolina, a state known for rough-and-tumble politics.

Trump lashed out at Cruz after the Texas senator challenged his conservative credentials. Trump called Cruz the "single-biggest liar" and a "nasty guy." The real estate mogul also accused Bush of lying about Trump's business record and said Bush's brother — former President George W. Bush — lied to the public about the Iraq War.

Bush, who has been among the most aggressive Republican candidates taking on Trump, said that while he didn't mind the businessman criticizing him — "It's blood sport for him" — he was "sick and tired of him going after my family."

Trump was jeered lustily by the audience, in a state where the Bush family is popular with Republicans. George W. Bush plans to campaign Monday with his brother in Charleston, making his first public foray into the 2016 race.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich sought to inject the election's high stakes into the discussion in the midst of the fiery exchanges between his competitors.

"I think we're fixing to lose the election to Hillary Clinton if we don't stop this," Kasich said.

The governor's warnings did little to deter his feisty colleagues.

Cruz and Sen. Marco Rubio also revived their fight over immigration, with the Texas senator haranguing his Florida counterpart for sponsoring failed legislation that would have created a pathway to citizenship for many of those in the United States illegally. Cruz also accused Rubio of taking a more moderate approach when speaking to Spanish-language media in an attempt to appeal to Hispanics.

"I don't know how he knows what I said on Univision — he doesn't speak Spanish," Rubio shot back.

Rubio gave a robust defense of his proposed 25 percent corporate tax rate — which is not as much of a tax cut as many of his rivals are pitching. Rubio said his idea would leave enough revenue in the federal budget to triple the child tax credit for working families with children.

Scalia's sudden death could serve as a reminder of the consequences of elections.

Cruz cast the moment in stark terms, saying allowing another Obama nominee to be approved would amount to Republicans giving up control of the Supreme Court for a generation. An uncompromising conservative, Cruz urged voters to consider who among the GOP candidates would nominate the most ideologically pure justices.

Saturday's debate came one week before South Carolina's primary.

Kasich defended himself against attacks on his conservative credentials, particularly his decision to expand Medicaid in Ohio despite resistance from his GOP-led Legislature. Kasich argued that his decision was a good deal for the state in the long run.

"We want everyone to rise and we will make them personally responsible for the help they get," said Kasich, whose fledgling campaign gained new life after a second-place finish in the New Hampshire primary.

Bush played the aggressor again, saying that Kasich's actions amounted to "expanding Obamacare."