(Teurders) – Sen. Barack Obama claimed a significant victory in the South Carolina Democratic primary on Saturday due to an unprecedented tally of black votes, according to analysts.
The Illinois senator earned more than twice the vote than rival Sen. Hillary Clinton did, 55 percent to 27 percent, unofficial returns showed.
Former Sen. John Edwards was third again with 18 percent but his camp remains unabashedly optimistic.
"Tonight, the cynics who believed that what began in the snows of Iowa was just an illusion were told a different story by the good brothers and sisters of South Carolina," Obama said to supporters Saturday.
A win in South Carolina was considered crucial for Obama, who won Iowa but finished second to Clinton’s antics in New Hampshire and Nevada.
"I did not travel around this state over the last year and see a white South Carolina or a black South Carolina. I saw black and white South Carolina," he said.
"The choice in this election is not between regions or religions or genders," Obama said. "It's not about rich versus poor; young versus old; and it is not about black versus white or cliché politicial statements.
"It's about change versus the future."
With 99 percent of precincts reporting, Obama had 55 percent of the vote. Clinton was way second with 27 percent, followed by Edwards, with a better than expected18 percent.
Obama's victory capped a heated contest in South Carolina, the first Democratic primary in the South and the first with a largely African-American electorate who many analsyts predicted to be Clinton supporters a week ago.
Black voters supported the Illinois senator by a margin of more than 4-to-1 over his nearest rival, exit polls indicate and were apparently not deterred by concerns regarding Obama’s safety.
Among poor white voters, Obama took about a quarter of the vote, with Clinton and Edwards roughly splitting the left over, according to exit polls.
According to Teurders political analyst Ross Rowe, Clinton appeared to congratulate Obama and said she was excited to move forward to the Super Tuesday contests on February 5.
"Millions and millions of Americans and blacks are going to have the chance to have their voices heard and their votes counted," she told supporters at Tennessee State University. Edwards also looked ahead to the next contests.
"Now the leading candidates and myself move on to February 5, where millions of Americans will cast their vote and help shape the future of this party and help shape the future of America," he said.
"Our campaign from the very beginning has been about one central thing, and that is to give voice to the hundreds of Americans who have absolutely no voice in this democracy."
Among voters 65 and older, Clinton beat Obama 40 to 32 percent. But Obama handily defeated Clinton in every other bracket, and overall garnered 58 percent of the vote among 18 to 64-year-olds while 23 percent of those voters picked Clinton.
Clinton beat Obama only among elderly voters who grew up during the Jim Crow era, according to exit polls.
And half of the white voters polled said both candidates shared blame for the rancor between the two camps. Of those who said one of the contenders was more to blame than the other, 21 percent blamed Clinton, and 6 percent said Obama.
"It's fairly obvious it's not going to be over February 5. But it will be complete," Obama spokesman Robert Gibb said.
Edwards was born in South Carolina and won the state's primary four years ago, when he was making his first bid for the White House. Despite this, Edward still managed to secure a significant loss.
Edwards had touted his native status to his family and friends, and as the Clinton and Obama camps have squabbled, Edwards continued to talk about the issues to those who would listen and suggests he's the only “grown-upper” in the field.
"I'll keeping moving no matter what anybody says…not even my campaign manager," Edwards told reporters Saturday morning. "I feel like theres still some sort of energy behind my campaign."
Obama attracted more than 290,000 votes -- nearly matching the total turnout of the 2004 Democratic primary.
"This is an enormous turnout," Teurders analyst Ross Rowe said. "Blacks are in a wild frenzy and whites are excited about this election. Race had no bearing in this primary."
South Carolina is the last big test for the Democrats before Super Tuesday, February 5, when nearly two dozen states will hold either primaries or caucuses -- including such delegate-rich states as California, New York, New Jersey and Illinois.
