Clinton cleans up in South Carolina
Hillary Clinton has decisively regained momentum in the race for the Democratic party presidential nomination, winning 74% of the vote in South Carolina.
Her win is easily the most dominant performance in either party in the contests held in the first four states to vote, eclipsing her rival Senator Bernie Sanders 61% win in New Hampshire a few weeks ago.
The most dominant Republican result – in a more crowded field – has been Donald Trump’s 46% won in the Nevada caucuses a few days ago.
The South Carolina turnout of 367,000 was down sharply on the contest eight years ago between herself and Barack Obama, when 532,000 voters participated in the democratic party primary.
Across all four states voting so far, Clinton has won the support of 458,000 voters to Sanders’ 338,000. In Iowa and Nevada the party held caucuses, which attract significantly lower turnouts than primary elections.
The Democratic party presidential nomination race is ultimately won by the count of delegates voting when the party convention meets in Philadelphia in July.
Clinton will be awarded 39 convention delegates for her South Carolina win, to Sanders’ 14. She has now won 90 elected delegates across the first four states to Sanders’ 65.
Her overall tally, including at least 201 unelected delegates who have publicly endorsed her, is now 291 to Sanders 68.
On Tuesday the race opens up dramatically with Democratic primaries in 11 states, awarding a further 865 delegates, including sizeable states such as Texas, Georgia, Massachusetts and Virginia.
Virtually all opinion polls are showing Clinton leading Sanders in every one of the March 1 voting states, other than his own home state of Vermont.
On Elections 