Obama Wins S.C. Big: He Outpolled Clinton, 2-1, With 80% of Black Vote

Jan 27, 03:57 AM

Jan. 27--COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Sen. Barack Obama crushed Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton yesterday in the South Carolina presidential primary, with landslide levels of support from African American voters in the Democrats' final test before a coast-to-coast clash on Feb. 5.

Obama outpolled Clinton more than 2-1, with former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, who was born in this state, finishing third.

Obama also drew a significant percentage of support across racial lines in this Deep South state -- an estimated 25 percent of whites -- but his ability to turn out black voters appeared decisive.

Black voters made up more than half the state's electorate, and Obama carried them by a 4-to-1 ratio, according to an exit poll for a consortium of news organizations.

"The choice in this election is not about regions or religions or genders," Obama said at his victory rally last night. "It's not about rich vs. poor, young vs. old, and it's not about black vs. white. It's about the past vs. the future."

His win -- even larger than polls had projected -- seemed likely to energize Obama's campaign after two straight popular-vote losses to Clinton, in New Hampshire and Nevada. Combined with his victory in the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses, Obama has done well enough to claim last night that he has collected more delegates than she has, although precise delegate counts are hard to pinpoint this early.

After the initial state-by-state battles, the contest now goes national, with advertising blitzes and tarmac-hopping campaigns across two dozen states voting Feb. 5. Florida comes first, this Tuesday, but no delegates are at stake because the party penalized the state for moving up its primary.

The campaign in South Carolina, the Democrats' first Southern contest, had turned combative in the last week, as Clinton and Obama traded attacks. Among other things, she said he had praised Ronald Reagan; he said her stands changed with the winds.

Obama took pains last night to say he had assembled a "diverse coalition" of voters in several states, and he also took several digs at Clinton.

"We are up against the conventional thinking that says your ability to lead as president comes from longevity in Washington or proximity to the White House," Obama said. "But we know that real leadership is about candor, and judgment.. . . We are up against the idea that it's acceptable to do or say anything to win an election."

Shortly after the polls closed here, Clinton flew to Tennessee for a rally, issuing a concession statement congratulating Obama and looking ahead. "For those who have lost their job or their home or their health care, I will focus on the solutions needed to move this country forward," she said.

Former President Bill Clinton had emerged as a polarizing figure, stumping for his wife while she spent most of the week in Super Tuesday states such as California, New York and New Jersey.

The Clinton team did its best to diminish the expected loss beforehand, saying that the diverse lot of Feb. 5 states would be a better test of her strength. At one stop in the state, Bill Clinton archly noted that Jesse Jackson had won South Carolina's primary in 1984 and 1988.

His wife and Obama are both "getting votes, to be sure, because of their race or gender. That's why people tell me Hillary doesn't have a chance of winning here," Bill Clinton said, suggesting that the pull of racial solidarity was too strong for his wife to defeat.

Last night, he said Obama "won fair and square."

About 60 percent of the voters polled yesterday said the former president was an important factor in their choice, for good or for ill.

It was a positive association for Michael Burton, 38, a social worker in Greenville who said he supported Hillary Clinton in part because of the couple's time in the White House.

"He was a good president, and she was part of that," said Burton. "The economy was a whole lot better then."

Ruth Martin, 68, a retired nurse in Sumter, said she supported Obama because she wanted change.

"You can't elect her and not elect Bill," said Martin. "It's not a good thing, because then you're going 'round and 'round with the same old politics."

The former president has always enjoyed strong support among black voters, but the results showed those bonds did not transfer to his wife here.

"Everybody says Bill Clinton was the first black president, but I think he just targeted black folks to get their votes and get power," said Sabrina Burno, 22, a stylist at Salon Fabulous in Columbia. "He's had his time in office."

Obama carried about a quarter of the white vote in South Carolina, compared with 36 percent of whites in New Hampshire, where he finished second. He won a third of the white vote in Iowa.

Some analysts sat Obama must avoid being pigeonholed as the "black candidate" outside the South in the Democratic primaries; most are in states with smaller populations of African Americans than South Carolina.

"He does have to be a little bit careful," said Bill Moore, a political scientist at the College of Charleston. "He has always come across as the 'candidate for president who happens to be black' as opposed to the 'black candidate' for president."

Edwards, despite his setback yesterday in a state he carried in his 2004 presidential campaign, said he would stay in the race to "give voice to all those whose voices aren't being heard."

Edwards had tried to turn the squabbling between Obama and Clinton to his advantage, reminding voters that he represented the "grown-up wing of the Democratic Party."

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South Carolina Primary Results

Here is the outcome of yesterday's Democratic nominating contest, with 45 of the state's 54 delegates at stake.

Candidate % of Vote

Barack Obama 55.4

Hillary Clinton 26.5

John Edwards 17.6

100% of returns counted

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More campaign coverage, video and photos at http://go.philly.com/

campaign2008

Contact staff writer Thomas Fitzgerald at 215-854-2718 or tfitzgerald@phillynews.com.

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