SC Final Primary Results: Hillary Clinton Wins in Landslide

COLUMBIA, SC – Hillary Clinton captured a huge percentage of the black vote Saturday in South Carolina to secure her first overwhelming victory in the 2016 Democratic primaries, defeating Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders as the party looked forward to Super Tuesday voting in 11 mostly southern states.

The Associated Press and other news outlets called the race moments after polls closed at 7 p.m.

Unofficial voting results with all ballots counted:

Hillary Clinton: 73.5%

Bernie Sanders: 26%

Clinton won 39 delegates; Sanders won 14.

“Today we sent a message that in America, when we stand together, there is no barrier too big to break,” she told a raucous crowd in Columbia.

She took aim at Wall Street, the pet target of Sanders, but said safe-guarding against banks and corruption is not enough.

“The middle class needs a raise,” she said.

And while Clinton vowed to continue the race for the nomination while taking nothing for granted, she took time to fire a soft volley at GOP frontrunner Donald Trump.

“We don’t have to start making America great again,” she said. “America has always been great. But we need to make America whole again.

“Instead of building walls, we need to start breaking down barriers.”

With a 25-point spread between Clinton and Sanders in some polls heading into voting, Clinton remained in South Carolina all week rather than move to the March 1 Super Tuesday states, calculating that a big win among African-American voters would re-establish her earlier status as the inevitable Democratic nominee.

With black voters holding sway in at least half of the 11 states to vote Tuesday, a Clinton sweep of the South seemed more likely than not.

Her strategy appeared to work.

She won nearly nine of every 10 black votes, the Times reported, a huge turnaround from 2008, when minorities abandoned her in droves in favor of then-Sen. Barack Obama.

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• 2016 South Carolina Democratic Primary: Hillary Clinton Favored

Sanders spent his little time in South Carolina trying to siphon off young voters among Clinton’s so-called “firewall” of support among minority voters, but he had mustered the support of 28 percent of African American voters in South Carolina compared to 65 percent for Clinton heading into the voting, according to a CNN/ORC International poll.

Both candidates made pitches to young black voters at nearby college campuses in Orangeburg Friday.

“I don’t think President Obama gets the credit he deserves digging us out of the debt (Republicans) left us in,” Clinton said, according to a report in the Post and Courier. “So I am a proud defender of President Obama. I was honored to serve as his secretary of state. We became not just partners but friends. And I am not going to let Republicans rip away the progress we made.”

At Claflin University, Sanders repeated his familiar social justice themes, including ending institutional racism and reducing prison recidivism.

“We have too many people going through that pipeline — in and out,” Sanders said of offenders who, once in the system, can’t seem to escape it. “So we’re going to make sure people have the education and jobs they need when they go back into society.”

He also pointed out to the mostly student audience that one of the big differences between him and Clinton is her large Super PAC contributions.

“I do not raise millions of dollars from Wall Street or powerful special interests,” he said.

See Also:

• Nevada Republican Caucus Results: Donald Trump Wins
• 2016 Nevada Democratic Caucuses: Hillary Clinton Handily Defeats Bernie Sanders
• 2016 South Carolina GOP Primary Totals: Donald Trump Wins; Jeb Bush Drops Out
• NH Primary Recap: Outsiders Break In
• Iowa Caucus Results: Cruz Wins GOP, Trump Stumbles, Dems Draw

Also on Friday, Clinton was joined by her husband, former President Bill Clinton, at a rally in South Carolina’s capital city of Columbia, where the pair were introduced as the 42nd and 45th presidents. Clinton said she wants “to send a strong signal” from South Carolina of her prowess as a presidential candidate as the campaign heads into Super Tuesday.

Sanders, who needs to do well on Super Tuesday to keep pace in the pledged delegate count, is predicting a Super Tuesday surprise.

Alabama Democratic Party chairwoman Nancy Worley told Politco it’s too early to count Sanders out on Super Tuesday. Clinton doesn’t always connect well with voters, Worley said, adding that’s important in the “touchy-feely” South.

“In order for any campaign to be successful in the South, it has to have the Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, shake-your-hand connection,” Worley said.

» Photos by Gage Skidmore via Flickr / Creative Commons