Source: Atlanta Progressive News
(APN) ATLANTA – US Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) rebounded from losses in New Hampshire, Michigan, and Nevada to win the South Carolina primary by a 28 percent margin Saturday.
Obama earned a crucial victory on the strength of overwhelming support from Black voters in South Carolina, accounting for half of all votes cast Saturday, January 26, 2008.
'Tonight the cynics who believed that what began in the snows of Iowa was just an illusion were told a different story by the good people of South Carolina,' Obama told a raucous crowd in Columbia, South Carolina.
There were no surprises in South Carolina, where poll numbers released in the days leading up to the vote showed Obama leading US Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and former US Sen. John Edwards (D-NC) by a few points.
Clinton came to South Carolina riding a wave of momentum after shocking the country by beating Obama in New Hampshire earlier after polls leading up to the vote there also showed her trailing him by a large margin.
Clinton also won the Nevada caucuses last week, leaving Obama thirsting for a victory.
Clinton won in Michigan, although the results there won’t count towards the nationwide delegate total because the Democratic Party has stripped Michigan of its delegates in retribution for holding its Primary 'earlier' than when was acceptable to the Party.
He did not just win in South Carolina; Obama won by a large margin, routing Clinton and Edwards on his way to winning all but three counties.
Obama eventually finished with 55 percent of the vote. Clinton finished a distant second with 27 percent while Edwards finished third with 18 percent.
'This election is our chance to give the American people a chance to believe again,' Obama added, continuing to focus on his positive message of change.
Clinton, expecting to lose in South Carolina, left the state before polls closed and traveled to Tennessee, where her focus shifted to future primaries.
'I want to tell you how excited I am that now, the eyes of the country turn toward Tennessee and the other states that will be voting February 5th,' Clinton said in Nashville.
'Millions and millions of Americans are going to have the chance to have their voices heard and their votes counted and I can’t think of any place I would rather be than in Nashville as we kick off the next 10 days,' she added.
Edwards, a South Carolina native, is still looking for his first victory of the nominating season but showed no signs of giving up on Saturday.
'We’re giving voice to all those Americans whose voices are not heard,” he told supporters in Columbia. “If you’re one of the millions of Americans who have yet to cast your vote in this democratic process…your voice will be heard and we will be with you every single step of the way.'
Candidates will fan out across the country over the next week in preparation for Super Tuesday. Voters in 24 states, including Georgia, will make their choices on February 5, 2008.
These states represent 52 percent of all pledged Democratic delegates and 41 percent of all Republican delegates. It takes 2,025 delegates to secure the Democratic nomination and 1,191 to secure the Republican nomination.
