Hillary Clinton today inflicted a massive defeat to Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primary in SC, restoring her position as party’s undisputed frontrunner in the race for the White House heading into the key multi-state contest billed as “Super Tuesday” showdown.
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On the Democratic side of the race, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders split the states, with Clinton holding a big lead in Alabama and Sanders a small one in Oklahoma, according to the Monmouth University survey out Monday. Blacks accounted for 62 percent of South Carolina Democratic primary voters and Clinton won 84 percent of their votes.
There were few bright spots for Vermont Sen. These numbers include both pledged delegates – those awarded in the elections or caucuses – and superdelegates, although superdelegates can change their allegiance if they see Sanders building momentum among regular voters.
Clinton’s sweeping victory suggested SC voters had put aside any lingering tensions from her heated 2008 contest with Obama.
At Clinton’s crowded headquarters in Columbia earlier Saturday, a sign addressed Sanders’ appeal to liberals and working class whites. Sanders congratulated Clinton but said the campaign was just beginning. “I’m told 61 percent of the electorate was African American and she was able to galvanize that”.
Numerous early March primaries are held in states with large blocs of African-American voters.
Mr Sanders continued to do well with young voters, his most passionate supporters.
In recent days, Clinton and members of her campaign have been sending signals that they believe Republican front-runner Donald Trump has the best shot at capturing the GOP presidential nomination. “The Clintons just had a light years’ advantage”. Although he was supported by a slim majority of primary voters under 30, she was supported by about three-quarters of those between the ages of 30 and 44, as well as 8 in 10 of those 45 and older.
In South Carolina, exit polls showed Clinton winning big with nearly every constituency.
Clinton then pivoted quickly to the contests to come. Whitmire says 54,000 absentee ballots were cast in this primary, compared to 35,000 in the last Democratic presidential primary in 2008. Among independents, a slim majority backed Sanders.
It is Mrs Clinton’s third victory in four contests, after wins in Iowa and Nevada.
She also wrote on Twitter: “To South Carolina, to the volunteers at the heart of our campaign, to the supporters who power it: thank you”.
“Tomorrow, this campaign goes national”, she said.
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Still, he did invest heavily in SC, with 200 paid staff on the ground and an aggressive television advertising campaign.
