USA: South Carolina primary for the Democratic party

January 27, 2008

January 27, 2008 -- Updated 0713 GMT (1513 HKT)

Obama claims big win in South Carolina

Story Highlights

- Blowout win for Obama in South Carolina

- Clinton finishes ahead of Edwards, CNN projects

- 47 percent decided on vote at least a month ago, exit polls indicate

- Edwards: "I feel good about how things are moving right now"

(CNN) -- Sen. Barack Obama claimed a significant victory in the South Carolina Democratic primary on Saturday, telling supporters "we are hungry for change."

Sen. Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, celebrate his South Carolina win.

The Illinois senator earned more than twice the vote that rival Sen. Hillary Clinton did, 55 percent to 27 percent, unofficial returns showed. Former Sen. John Edwards was third with 18 percent.

Cosmologer <cosmologersamva Sent: Saturday, January 26, 2008 7:41:31 PM USA: South Carolina primary for the Democratic party

Dear friends,

The South Carolina primary for the Democratic party is today. Obama is leading in the polls.

There is uncertainty about the birth time for Obama, with some suggesting 29° Leo rising (9:06 PM, August 8, 1961, Honolulu. HI) and most others 24° Libra (1:06 PM). Both charts have a strong Venus period operating and Venus strong in transit today. A weaker Sun sub period starts in July 2008 in both charts.

There is also uncertainty about the birth time of Hillary Clinton, with some suggesting 29° Libra (8:02 AM, October 26, 1947, Chicago IL) and others 7° Gemini (8:00 PM). The Libra rising chart has mixed indications and a good Saturn period operating, while the Gemini rising chart shows strain for the first few months of the year with an adverse Rahu period starting on February 1, 2008.

In the SAMVA USA chart, transit L2 Sun is conjunct L3 Mercury in H7, with transit Mercury in H7 under affliction of natal Saturn. It is not unlikely that some gain of status is made by the "younger" candidates.

Best wishes,

Thor

Steady to strong turnout as South Carolina votes

Story Highlights NEW: Turnout for crucial primary reported strong in places

NEW: Edwards: "I feel good about how things are moving right now"

Appeal to African-Americans key for Clinton, Obama, Edwards

Polls have Obama leading Clinton, particularly among black voters

(CNN) -- Turnout was strong in some places Saturday as voters streamed to the polls for South Carolina's Democratic primary election.

Sen. Barack Obama campaigns Thursday in North Charleston, South Carolina.

"Turnout has been steady, and some counties have described it as heavy," said Chris Whitmire, spokesman for the state election commission. "Our absentee numbers indicate that we could have higher turnout than last weekend," when the Republican Party held its primary.

A win in South Carolina is crucial for Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, who could use a victory after second-place finishes to New York Sen. Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire and Nevada.

Obama, who is hoping to become America's first African-American president, is expected to do well with black voters, who are expected to make up about half of Saturday's electorate.

"After we won Iowa, everybody was so excited," Obama told supporters at a rally Friday night. "Everybody said, 'Oh, look at this. You know, African-American, he's winning in a state with almost no African-Americans,' and everybody's excited, and young people came out.

"And I think people started thinking, 'Well, you know, this isn't hard.' But you know what? The status quo does not give up that easily," he added.

Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards was born in South Carolina and won the state's primary four years ago, when he was making his first bid for the White House.

Edwards has been touting his native status, and as the Clinton and Obama camps have squabbled, Edwards has continued to talk about the issues and suggests he's the only adult in the field.

"I'm keeping moving no matter what, but I feel good about how things are moving right now here today," Edwards told reporters Saturday morning. "I feel there's a lot of energy behind my campaign."

The Clinton and Obama campaigns toned down the rhetoric in the past two days, returning to the issues and concentrating their firepower on the Republicans rather than on each other.

"I think they [the Republicans] should be gracious and just say, "We have messed this thing up so much we are just gonna quit and ... we shouldn't be re-elected,' but I don't think that is what they are going to do," Clinton said.

The South Carolina result will show who has the most support within the party's core, said CNN senior political analyst Bill Schneider.

"South Carolina is important for Democrats for the same reason it's important for Republicans: It's the state where the base speaks," said CNN senior political analyst Bill Schneider. "In the Republican case, that means conservatives. For the Democrats, that means African-Americans."

With white voters' loyalties divided, blacks hold the key to victory, he said.

"Obama's support among African-American voters gives him more legitimacy," Schneider said. "Obama has been doing well with young voters, independents and educated upper-middle-class liberals -- the NPR vote. Winning the black vote by a solid margin means Obama has standing with the Democratic Party's base.

"The closer Hillary Clinton comes to splitting the black vote with Obama, the easier it will be for her to say that she and Obama share the support of that base," Schneider added.

A McClatchy-MSNBC poll conducted January 22-23 reported Obama leading with the support of 38 percent of the likely Democratic primary voters polled. Clinton was in second place with 30 percent, and Edwards was backed by 19 percent.

Among black primary voters, Obama had a more significant lead over Clinton, 59 percent to 25 percent, but Obama is only backed by 10 percent of white voters, the poll found. Among whites, Edwards and Clinton are in a statistical tie, with Edwards backed by 40 percent and Clinton supported by 36 percent.

The lack of support from white voters could be a concern for Obama in the future.

"The concern all along has been the possibility of Obama, in spite of his broad, nonracial appeal, running poorly among whites," said Thom Mann, a political analyst at the Brookings Institution.

The McClatchy-MSNBC poll's margin of error was plus-or-minus 5 percentage points.

An American Research Group poll of likely primary voters conducted over the same period showed a similar lead for Obama. In that poll, Obama led Clinton 45 percent to 36 percent, with Edwards coming in third with 12 percent. The poll's margin of error was plus-or-minus 4 percentage points.

South Carolina is the last big test for the Democrats before Super Tuesday, February 5, when nearly two dozen states will hold either primaries or caucuses -- including such delegate-rich states as California, New York, New Jersey and Illinois.While it is unlikely Edwards would stage a come-from-behind victory, he still could have a significant impact on the primary process, which is increasingly coming down to a delegate race. Edwards can win delegates even if he does not win states.

On January 15, Edwards pledged, "I'm in this for the long haul. We're continuing to accumulate delegates. There's actually a very narrow margin between Sen. Obama, Sen. Clinton and myself on delegates."

CNN's Peter Hamby, Alexander Mooney, Bill Schneider

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