McCain Leads, Obama Delivers a South Carolinian Surprise
Charley Li
Issue date: 1/28/08 Section: Features
In light of this last week's South Carolina Republican primaries, presidential candidate John McCain defeated his opponents and appears to have taken the front lead in the GOP race. The Republicans now turn to the Florida primaries where Florida Governor Charlie Crist has already pledged his support to the veteran front runner. McCain has outmaneuvered his opponents in key New Hampshire and South Carolina showdowns, and the race for the GOP nomination seems to have an emerging front runner. Nevertheless, there is no clear cut vision on who might pull ahead as we approach the Super Tuesday states. With Giuliani entering the fight, Fred Thompson dropping out of the race, and a momentum-driven McCain pulling ahead, we should be prepared for anything to happen.
On the Democratic side, things are perhaps even more intriguing. Despite strong campaigning in South Carolina, Hilary Clinton and John Edwards were nowhere close to challenging Barack Obama's dominance in the final voting results. A strong showing of black voters and a surprising show of support from white voters put Obama ahead of Clinton by nearly 28%. MSNBC has reported that Obama's turnout alone is close to exceeding the total GOP turnout. In a state traditionally considered a Republican bastion, this statistic has some important implications. Obama's aggressive campaign strategy in South Carolina has resulted in a victory of surprising magnitude. Not only did he issue a huge blow to Clinton by beating her by 28%, he also managed to earn a smashing victory in a state with strong historical ties to the GOP.
On the Democratic side, things are perhaps even more intriguing. Despite strong campaigning in South Carolina, Hilary Clinton and John Edwards were nowhere close to challenging Barack Obama's dominance in the final voting results. A strong showing of black voters and a surprising show of support from white voters put Obama ahead of Clinton by nearly 28%. MSNBC has reported that Obama's turnout alone is close to exceeding the total GOP turnout. In a state traditionally considered a Republican bastion, this statistic has some important implications. Obama's aggressive campaign strategy in South Carolina has resulted in a victory of surprising magnitude. Not only did he issue a huge blow to Clinton by beating her by 28%, he also managed to earn a smashing victory in a state with strong historical ties to the GOP.
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