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Clinton eyes big win in S. Carolina; Sanders shifts focus

Bernie Sanders in the South Carolina Democratic primary Saturday with the help of an overwhelming vote by African Americans, gaining the lift she sought going into the delegate-rich Super Tuesday primaries.

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Clinton has a one-delegate edge over Sanders after her narrow win in Iowa, her sweeping loss in New Hampshire and a five-point victory in Nevada.

Hillary Clinton crushed Bernie Sanders in the SC primary and immediately turned to potential battles ahead as she offered a vision for America based on “love and kindness” in stark contrast to the anger and division promoted by Donald Trump.

Jane, Bernie’s wife, and one of his top campaign advisers, said that SC voting has already started and the campaign has to focus on March 1, when 12 states will cast ballots.

Echoing Republican front-runner Donald Trump’s catchphrase in her victory speech, Clinton said, “We don’t need to make America great again, America never stopped being great. We are not taking anything and we are not taking anyone for granted”, she says. SC could be a springboard, or perhaps a better word is launching pad, for big wins in those seven states.

In 2008, black voters made up 55 per cent of the electorate in South Carolina’s Democratic primary, according to exit polls.

For his part, Sanders is looking ahead and didn’t spend the day in SC.

She also referenced Trump’s repeated calls to build a large wall along the southern border of the U.S. to prevent illegal immigration from Mexico. Sanders opted instead to turn his eye toward Super Tuesday states on March 1st and was campaigning in Minnesota Saturday night.

“We won a decisive victory in New Hampshire”.

An exit poll conducted by Edison Research showed that Clinton dominated the SC race in almost every group polled.

While Washington state’s democratic caucuses remain a month away, both campaigns have sent staffers to begin organizing on the ground.

“Tonight we lost. I congratulate Secretary Clinton on her very strong victory”. That is likely because Obama also attracted white voters in 2008, who may have voted Republican this time around, voting trends suggest. “This campaign is just beginning”, Sanders said in a statement while on the way to a rally in Minnesota.

Fifty-three Democratic delegates were at stake in SC.

By comparison, Mrs Clinton’s win will inject extra energy into her campaign, which is vital going into this week when so many delegates are up for grabs. “Our grassroots political revolution is growing state by state, and we won’t stop now”, the 74-year-old Vermont Senator said.

A young boy listens as Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks at Solicitor David Pascoe’s Annual Oyster Roast and Fish Fry while campaigning in Orangeburg, S.C., Friday, Feb. 26, 2016.

Because Democrats apportion delegates proportionally, Sanders is simply hoping to stay close to Clinton in the South. But he’s focusing most of his attention on states in the Midwest and Northeast, including his home state of Vermont.

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A thousand kilometres from SC in Austin, Texas, more than 10,000 adoring Sanders supporters showed up and cheered his every sentence at an outdoor rally.

Democratic US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton waves at the end of her speech to supporters about the results of the South Carolina primary at a primary night party in Columbia South Carolina