COLUMBIA, S.C. — Hillary Clinton sailed to a commanding victory over Bernie Sanders in Saturday’s South Carolina primary, drawing overwhelming support from the state’s black Democrats and putting her in strong position as the race barrels toward Super Tuesday’s crucial contests.
Clinton’s win provided an important boost for her campaign — and a moment to wipe away bitter memories of her loss to Barack Obama in South Carolina eight years ago. As she makes her second White House run, Clinton has warmly embraced Obama, who remains widely popular with Democrats and particularly African-Americans.
Eight in 10 black voters went for Clinton, according to early surveys from polling places.
Sanders, expecting defeat on Saturday, left South Carolina even before voting finished and turned his attention to some of the states that vote in Tuesday’s delegate-rich contests. He drew 10,000 people to a rally in Austin, Texas, a liberal bastion in the conservative state, the biggest Super Tuesday prize.
“On Super Tuesday, the state that is going to be voting for the most delegates is the great state of Texas,” Sanders told the crowd at a Formula One racetrack. “If all of you come out to vote and you bring your friends and your neighbors and your co-workers, we are going to win here in Texas.”
While Sanders spent the end of the week outside of South Carolina, his campaign did invest heavily in the state. He had 200 paid staff on the ground and an aggressive advertising campaign.
A self-described democratic socialist, Sanders has energized young people and liberals with his impassioned calls for breaking up Wall Street banks and making tuition free at public colleges and universities. But the senator from Vermont, a state where about 1 percent of the population is black, lacks Clinton’s deep ties to the African-American community.
Exit polls showed 6 in 10 voters in Saturday’s South Carolina primary were black. About 7 in 10 said they wanted the next president to continue Obama’s policies, and only about 20 percent wanted a more liberal course of action, according to exit polls conducted by Edison Research for The Associated Press and television networks.
Clinton’s sweeping victory suggested South Carolina voters had put aside any lingering tensions from her heated 2008 contest with Obama. Former President Bill Clinton made statements during that campaign that were seen by some, including influential South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn, as questioning the legitimacy of the black presidential contender.
This time around, Clyburn endorsed Clinton, and her husband was well-received as he traveled around the state on her behalf.
Sanders, a fierce opponent of super PACs and high-dollar campaign fundraising, has built a massive network of small donors and has the money to stay in the race deep into the spring. Still, Clinton’s campaign sees a chance to build enough of a delegate lead to put the race out of reach during the sprint through March.
