Barack Obama carried South Carolina's Democratic primary in January 2008 by a wide margin, capturing more than 80 percent of the Black vote according to CNN exit polls. Preliminary figures from ABC News indicated Black voters made up more than half of all participants.
Political science professors in the state said the result posed a strategic risk: that Obama could be cast as a candidate whose support was confined to Black voters rather than one with genuinely broad national appeal. Obama pushed back, pointing to his earlier victory in Iowa, where the electorate is 94 percent white, and a near-tie in New Hampshire.
The weeks before the vote had been marked by friction over race, with Obama's campaign accusing Clinton's operation of deliberately amplifying racial themes to limit his appeal. Analysts at two South Carolina universities suggested the Clinton camp had framed the contest to portray him as dependent solely on the Black vote.
A Wall Street Journal/NBC poll showed Clinton leading among white Democratic voters nationally 53 to 24 percent, while Obama led among Black Democrats 63 to 23 percent. At least one analyst noted that racial tensions inside the Democratic primary suited Republican strategists looking for an opening.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in January 2008, in its own words.