Obama is seen as winner in South Carolina

COLUMBIA, South Carolina: Senator Barack Obama appeared to sprint to a lopsided victory in the South Carolina primary, the first Southern contest of the presidential campaign. The Associated Press and CNN called the race for Obama immediately after the polls closed at 7:00 p.m., suggesting a large margin of victory. Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and John Edwards were in a close race for second-place as returns began to trickle in from the state's precincts.

More than half of the voters who participated in Saturday's primary in the state were black, according to early exit polls, a higher turnout than the 2004 Democratic primary and a signal that Obama enjoyed strong support from African-American voters. Clinton's campaign had sought to lower expectations about her performance in Saturday's primary, and she was scheduled to be in Tennessee for a rally on Saturday evening.

But Edwards, seeking to revive his flagging campaign, had ratcheted up his efforts in recent days as he hoped to attract support from voters in the state where he was born. Edwards was the winner of the 2004 South Carolina primary. A large majority of Democratic voters in South Carolina said America was ready to elect a black president or a woman president, according to exit polls.

Party officials predicted a record-setting turnout. Throughout the state, party officials said they had early reports of high turnout, in predominantly white and black precincts. Several precincts in York County, on the state's northern edge, had surpassed their complete voting totals from four years ago by early afternoon. Officials said similar turnout patterns were coming in from Aiken County, on the Georgia border.
By Jeff Zeleny and Michael M. Grynbaum
Source: Herald Tribune