Clinton focuses on general, while Sanders sticks to script

Clinton, celebrating her rout of Democratic rival Bernie Sanders in South Carolina’s primary, took direct aim at Trump’s message on Saturday night, telling supporters, “Despite what you hear, we don’t need to make America great again“. With all precincts reporting, Clinton beat Sanders by almost 50 points, winning 73.5 percent to 26 percent.

Lynn Nelson, chairman of the Maury County Democratic Party, said he didn’t expect much of a turnout within the county on Super Tuesday, but did expect Clinton to win.

Sanders got a boost Sunday when Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) said she’s stepping down as vice chair of the Democratic National Committee to back his campaign.

When they learned their candidate had beaten Hillary Clinton in Minnesota, taking the largest share of the state’s available delegates, they chanted and cheered the Vermont senator’s name – and many vowed never to support his opponent, even if she goes on to win the Democratic nomination.

The decline of the middle class, an era marked by greater global competition, deregulation and the rolling back of a social welfare safety net, has also fuelled the runaway (some would say out-of-control) success of billionaire-turned-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. Sanders’ Durham campaign office opening comes two weeks after a Clinton office opened in downtown Raleigh and just one day after a campaign office for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump opened in Fayetteville.

“We are proud to have the support of these Democratic party leaders, who have been in the trenches”, said Jesse Ferguson, a spokesman for the Clinton campaign. After a virtual tie in Iowa and resounding defeat in New Hampshire, she began looking past Nevada and SC and focusing on March.

“We still vote blue”, Rogers said. Sanders’ best hopes to spoil a Clinton sweep lie in Massachusetts, Minnesota, his home state of Vermont, or maybe weed-crazy Colorado. In fact she took a bigger portion of the black vote than Obama did! “I’m gonna tell you, the proof is in the pudding every time”, Killer Mike said from behind the podium.

The moral of the story is that while Sanders is certainly doing well enough to win many states in New England and on the plains, he is losing the election – perhaps more solidly than his supporters realize. Young black voters under the age of 30 also supported Clinton in high numbers – 56 percent. Bernie Sanders (D-VT) in the Democratic South Carolina primary. Speaking at a rally in Madison, Alabama, Trump said he would focus on the controversy surrounding Clinton’s use of a private email server while secretary of state if he’s the nominee.

SC was the first contest in which a majority of the electorate had been made up of minority voters, and Clinton won black voters handily.

Meanwhile, Mr Sanders drew 10,000 people to a rally in Austin, a liberal bastion in conservative Texas, the biggest Super Tuesday prize. “Now it’s on to Super Tuesday”, he said.

Sanders also released a national television ad Monday in which he outlines how he believes “corrupt politics” and political contributions from the wealthy contribute to a “rigged economy”. “It is not going to happen anymore, folks!”

While her campaign staff has started talking about the end of the Democratic Party race, Mrs Clinton made it clear she was taking nothing for granted.

I, for one, am glad that Jeb Bush is no longer in the race.

She held town halls on “breaking down barriers” for blacks, carpeted the state with ads and deployed both her daughter, Chelsea, and husband, former president Bill Clinton.

Sanders hopes to remain competitive in the South, while focusing most attention on states in the Midwest and Northeast.

To keep up the momentum propelling Sanders’ grassroots White House bid, the campaign set the ambitious goal of topping the $40 million mark for February. Sanders had 200 paid staff members in SC, many times more than Clinton, yet even with more staff and operatives on the ground, Sanders failed to connect with black voters.