And perhaps even more worryingly for Bernie, she even crushed him among voters who agree that our economic system favors the wealthy.
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Clinton’s margin of victory among black voters was even wider than Barack Obama enjoyed eight years ago in SC. She won an overwhelming share of both the male and female vote – 68% of men and 79% of women voted for her. But women comprised a much larger share of SC primary voters – 39% of voters were men, and 61% were women. Her only loss came in New Hampshire, which borders Sanders’ home state of Vermont. With 12% of precincts reporting, the former secretary of state was thumping Sanders 78% to 21.4%.
“But we do need to make America whole again”.
Among Democrats, Clinton leads in the national delegate count at this early stage, having now won three of the first four nomination contests – in Iowa, narrowly, then Nevada and SC. “We’re going to break down every barrier that holds you back, and we’re going to build ladders of opportunity in their place, so every American can go as far as your hard work can take you”. On the other hand, Sanders won 66 percent of those who want to change to more liberal, compared to 34 percent who voted for Clinton.
“I am a 100 percent supporter and I am absolutely adamant about protecting marriage equality”, she said.
Clinton mentioned the five mothers by name that she recognized at CNN’s Democratic town hall on Tuesday – five African-American women who have lost their children to senseless gun violence or at the hands of police. Instead of remaining in the Palmetto State to wait for results, Sanders opted instead to turn his eye toward Super Tuesday states voting March 1. With more than a dozen contests and more than 800 delegates at stake, this will be our toughest test yet.
But Clinton supporters were elated at the result and some felt SC could well be the turning point in the campaign.
Sanders, who conceded defeat within two hours of polls opening when he flew out of the state to Texas and Minnesota – two of the Super Tuesday battlegrounds, congratulated Clinton on her victory, but said the real campaign has just begun. “How are we ever going to strengthen the bonds of family and community again?'” Clinton said.
Still, he did invest heavily in SC, with 200 paid staff on the ground and an aggressive television advertising campaign.
Rival Bernie Sanders, 74, a veteran senator from Vermont, was not expected to do well in SC and commentators said he had struggled to gain traction. “Our grassroots political revolution is growing state by state, and we won’t stop now”.
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An exit poll conducted by Edison Research showed that Clinton dominated the SC race in almost every group polled. “Sanders on running a great race”, Clinton said. Eleven states, including six in the South with large minority populations where polls show Clinton with big leads, will vote in the Democratic nomination fight on Super Tuesday and four more over the next weekend.
