Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton swept Saturday's South Carolina primary thanks to a great deal of support from black voters, putting her in a strong position in the general election.
"To South Carolina, to the volunteers at the heart of our campaign, to the supporters who power it: thank you," Clinton tweeted after winning with almost 73 percent of the votes, reported Al Jazeera.
To South Carolina, to the volunteers at the heart of our campaign, to the supporters who power it: thank you. -H pic.twitter.com/JFTUZ2yBxf
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) February 28, 2016
"Tomorrow, this campaign goes national. We are going to compete for every vote in every state. We are not taking anything and we're not taking anyone for granted," Clinton said at a rally in Columbia.
Clinton also took a dig at Republican front-runner Donald Trump, saying, "Despite what you hear, we don't need to make America great again. America has never stopped being great. But we do need to make America whole again. Instead of building walls, we need to be tearing down barriers. We need to show by everything we do that we really are in this together," she said, to cheering crowds, according to The Los Angeles Times.
"It's time, it's time, it's time for a woman in the White House," the ecstatic crowd chanted back.
Bernie Sanders, expecting a defeat, had left the state before the results could be tallied. However, he sent out statement promising to continue the fight.
"This campaign is just beginning. Our grass-roots political revolution is growing state by state, and we won't stop now," said Bernie Sanders, according to the Associated Press,
"We won a decisive victory in New Hampshire. She won a decisive victory in South Carolina. Now it's on to Super Tuesday," Sanders added, according to Al Jazeera, clearly not willing to give up on the presidential race.
The two contestants will now face each other during next week's "Super Tuesday," with Clinton's victory giving her a great deal of momentum.
Edison Research conducted exit polls for the Associated Press, finding that six in 10 voters in the South Carolina primary were black. About seven in 10 said that they wanted the next president to continue Obama's policies, and only about 20 percent wanted a more liberal course of action.
