COLUMBIA, USA (UPDATED) – Hillary Clinton defeated Bernie Sanders by an overwhelming margin in the Democratic primary on Saturday, February 27, in South Carolina, projections showed, seizing momentum ahead of the most important day of the nomination race: next week's "Super Tuesday" contests.
Four weeks into the White House primaries, the former secretary of state earned a decisive win in the first southern state to vote for a 2016 Democratic nominee, before the race broadens to 11 contests across the country.
"Tomorrow this campaign goes national," Clinton said to a loud roar as she thanked supporters in Columbia, South Carolina.
"We are going to compete for every vote in every state. We are not taking anything, and we are not taking anyone, for granted."
US networks called the race for Clinton moments after polls closed in the Palmetto State, where the majority of Democratic voters are African-American, a voting bloc that she and her husband, former president Bill Clinton, have successfully courted for decades.
Clinton also looked beyond her battle with Sanders, tweaking the man many now see as the likely Republican nominee: Donald Trump, whose campaign slogan is "Make America Great Again."
"Despite what you hear, we don't need to make America great again. America has never stopped being great," she said.
"But we do need to make America whole again," she added, laying out an argument against the divisive rhetoric favored by Trump, who has antagonized immigrants, Muslims, and campaign rivals.
"Instead of building walls, we need to tear down barriers," Clinton said.
"I know it sometimes seems a little odd for someone running for president these days and in this time to say we need more love and kindness in America," she added. "But I am telling you from the bottom of my heart, we do."
With nearly 79% of precincts reporting, Clinton stood at 73.6% compared to 25.8% for Sanders.
The victory marks an impressive moment of redemption for Clinton who in 2008 lost badly in the state to Barack Obama – his win here serving as a turning point for his ultimately victorious campaign.
Decisive win
After a series of single state contests, the former secretary of state was seeking a decisive win in the first southern state to vote for a 2016 Democratic presidential nominee, before the race goes national on Tuesday with contests in 11 different states.
Exit polls suggest she earned just that. US networks called the race for Clinton moments after polls closed in the Palmetto State, where the majority of Democratic voters are African-American, a voting bloc that she has successfully courted for decades.
"To South Carolina, to the volunteers at the heart of our campaign, to the supporters who power it: thank you," Clinton tweeted as CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News all called the vote in her favor at the close of polls on Saturday, February 27.
Huge cheers broke out at the venue in Columbia, South Carolina, where Clinton was due to deliver a victory speech to supporters.
"It's time, it's time, it's time for a woman in the White House," the crowd chanted.
Saturday's result was a foregone conclusion of sorts, with Sanders bolting from the state Saturday morning to head to Texas and then Minnesota, two states in play next Tuesday when Sanders is aiming to keep his head above water if he wants to challenge Clinton deeper into the nomination race.
'Super Tuesday'
Sanders immediately congratulated his rival, while vowing to fight on for the party's presidential nomination.
"This campaign is just beginning," he said in a statement.
"We won a decisive victory in New Hampshire. She won a decisive victory in South Carolina. Now it's on to Super Tuesday."
Sanders, a self-declared democratic socialist who represents Vermont in the US Senate, headed earlier Saturday to Texas, where he told some 10,000 people that he has been this election's comeback kid.
Sanders is also focusing on states like Ohio and Minnesota that vote later in March, when a whopping 45% of the delegates who will attend the nominating convention are up for grabs.
Only 3% of delegates for July's nominating convention in Philadelphia will have been awarded by Saturday's end.
But the 11 states that hold Democratic nominating contests next Tuesday will send a whopping 18% of the delegates to Philadelphia.
Clinton is ahead in most, but Sanders has the edge in Massachusetts and his home turf of Vermont.
Retired teacher Elvira Kennedy, 70, voted for Clinton in Columbia.
"She's the best candidate," said Kennedy, who is African-American.
"We never had a woman president, it's about time we give a woman a chance to mess everything. Men have been doing it for 300 years."
Among Democrats, Clinton leads in the national delegate count at this early stage of the nomination race, having already won two of the previous 3 contests – in Iowa, narrowly, and Nevada.
She had been predicted an easy victory in South Carolina, where her campaign worked hard to win the support of the state's large black population. – Rappler.com