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

Voting is underway in South Carolina’s Democratic presidential primary, and Hillary Clinton is looking for a big victory – and to win big over rival Bernie Sanders.

“There is only one candidate that has to win SC and it is not Bernie Sanders“, said SC state Rep. Justin Bamberg, a Sanders supporter, on Saturday. “We are not taking anything, and we’re not taking anyone, for granted”, Clinton told a cheering crowd in Columbia, South Carolina.

Within minutes of the race being called, Mr. Sanders issued a statement congratulating Mrs. Clinton and vowing to soldier against her. This campaign is just beginning.

Trump, who has won three states in a row after losing in Iowa’s caucuses to Cruz, held a campaign rally in Arkansas with Chris Christie, the New Jersey governor and former presidential candidate who dropped out of the race after a sixth place finish in New Hampshire.

Hillary Clinton hopes a second chance in SC will mean a first.

The Democrats’ contrasting approaches underscored their broader aims and possibilities heading into the delegate-rich races on March 1, or Super Tuesday.

A victory here would also establish Clinton as the firm favourite among black voters, a crucial segment of the Democratic electorate, and set her up for a big delegate haul in next week’s Super Tuesday contests in the South.

That’s when 11 states and American Samoa hold nominating contests in the 2016 race between Clinton and Sanders, with 865 of delegates up for grabs.

The Vermont senator added a note of confidence: “Our grassroots political revolution is growing state by state, and we won’t stop now”. “That’s good. But now it’s time to get around one candidate and wait for the Republicans”, she said.

Now the campaign goes nationwide for Super Tuesday where 11 states such as Texas, Georgia, and Virginia head to the polls to select their candidate.

Sanders, who campaigned in SC and has tried to make inroads with black voters, nevertheless has turned his attention in recent days to other states that vote on Tuesday.

For Sanders, his failure to appeal to African-American voters represents a potentially fatal flaw in his campaign for the nomination. Voters in SC are more anxious about jobs and the economy than people who voted in previous Democratic contests.

But the Clinton name has a deep reservoir of support among blacks and she recently picked up support from the mother of Trayvon Martin, who was killed by George Zimmerman.

Entrance polls in Nevada similarly showed that Clinton trounced Sanders by 3-to-1 among Black voters, but Sanders reportedly drew more support from Latinos.

As Sanders moves past SC, he will need to continue appealing to younger black voters and introducing himself to older black voters to win over more African-Americans. A whopping 69 percent to 12 percent lead for Clinton over Sanders.

Clinton took to the campaign trail with the mothers of Trayvon Martin, Sandra Bland, Jordan Davis, Dontre Hamilton, and Eric Garner.

Early exit polls showed that about 61 percent of voters in Saturday’s primary identified as black, with only about 35 percent saying they were white, according to NBC News. She now has a 52 to 51 advantage, and far more “superdelegates“, the term used to describe Democratic party leaders who have independent votes in the nomination fight.