Clinton takes S. Carolina
COLUMBIA, South Carolina—Drawing overwhelming support from the African-American voters who deserted her here eight years ago, Hillary Clinton won her first resounding victory of the 2016 campaign in South Carolina on Saturday, delivering a blow to Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
After supporting Barack Obama in 2008, black voters, who will be the dominant force in the coming Southern primaries, turned out in droves for Clinton here. They chose her over Sanders by more than six to one, while white voters narrowly favored her as well, according to exit polls.
The rout was both politically and psychologically meaningful for Clinton and her allies, who have been waiting for a moment that validated her candidacy with the level of unqualified intensity that South Carolina delivered.
The huge margin of victory—she won nearly 74 percent of the vote—will extend her lead over Sanders in delegates needed to clinch the Democratic nomination. But the results also helped her extinguish any doubts about her ability to win big with Democrats and about her broad appeal among minority voters, who will be decisive in many delegate-rich primaries in March.
“We, tonight, have started Hillary Clinton on her way to the White House,” said Representative James E. Clyburn, the state’s most powerful black Democrat, as he introduced Clinton at a victory rally here.
Taking the stage at the University of South Carolina to cheers of “Madam President,” Clinton promised to continue courting voters aggressively in the coming weeks, but she also began looking past Sanders to the leading Republican candidate, Donald J. Trump.
“Tomorrow, this campaign goes national,” Clinton said as she dedicated her victory to parents, teachers and “the entrepreneur who told me more dreams die in the parking lots of banks than anywhere else,” particularly among women and minorities.
Without mentioning Trump by name, Clinton repeated a biblical anecdote from Corinthians 1 and said the country needed more “love and kindness.”
“Despite what you hear, we don’t need to make America great again,” Clinton said to raucous applause as she took aim at Trump’s slogan. “America has never stopped being great.”
“Instead of building walls, we need to be tearing down barriers,” she added.
Sanders vowed to fight on, expressing confidence that he would notch some victories and win delegates on Tuesday.
Speaking at a rally on Saturday night in Minnesota, Sanders spent less time criticizing Mrs. Clinton than reciting his familiar themes decrying Wall Street greed and calling for a $15 minimum wage.
“What this campaign is about—and it’s not easy—is trying to force discussion on issues that Congress chooses not to talk about and the media chooses not to talk about,” Sanders said, citing seniors and veterans who are struggling to live on minimal Social Security payments.