COLUMBIA - Winners and losers in the South Carolina Democratic presidential primary Saturday:
WINNER
Barack Obama
The 46-year-old first-term senator from Illinois rode massive African-American support to score a landslide victory in South Carolina and revive his hopes of becoming the first black US president.
But after notching his second win over Hillary Clinton, he needs to avoid being typed as the "black" candidate and to broaden his support ahead of a nationwide clutch of contests on February 5.
Born to a Kenyan father and an American mother from Kansas, Obama shot to the national limelight on the strength of his dazzling oratory although critics say he is short on specifics and experience.
He holds himself out as the candidate of change and portrays Clinton as a symbol of the Washington status quo, contrasting his early opposition to the Iraq war with her 2002 Senate vote to authorize military action.
LOSERS
Hillary Clinton
The New York senator and former first lady, 60, seeks to become the country's first woman president but finds herself in a dogfight for the nomination she once hoped to win in a walk.
Clinton was on the ropes after Obama's convincing victory in Iowa and staged a stunning comeback to win in New Hampshire and Nevada. But she was stung by Obama's larger-than-expected victory in South Carolina.
She appears to be on friendlier terrain heading into Super Tuesday on February 5, when nearly two dozen states will vote, including several large states where she has a sizeable lead over Obama in the polls.
While claiming to be the most experienced candidate after eight years in her husband Bill's White House and seven years in the Senate, Clinton is still plagued by her reputation as a polarizing politician.
John Edwards
The millionaire former trial lawyer, former senator and 2004 Democratic vice presidential nominee, will find it tough to rebound from a third-place finish in his native state of South Carolina.
Edwards, 54, has been pitching a brand of economic populism, railing against the big corporations and lobbyists while pledging to fight for the middle class.
But with nothing more than a second-place finish in Iowa to show for the early run of nominating contests, he has an uphill task to assuage concerns that he is uncompetitive nationwide.
Edwards is also running while his wife Elizabeth battles incurable cancer. He turned to politics after the death of his teenaged son Wade in a 1996 car accident.
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01/27/2008 03:48 GMT