Polls opened at 7am EST, close at 7pm. Some articles and fact sheets to give you a background.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The South Carolina Democratic primary, 2008, takes place on January 26, 2008. It is one of several key early state nominating contests in the process of choosing nominees of the Democratic party for the November 2008 election for President of the United States.
As of 2008, the primary has cemented its place as the "First in the South" primary for both parties. For the Democrats, the primary is significant because it is the first nominating contest in which a large percentage (perhaps 50% or greater) of primary voters will be African Americans.[1]
The Republican presidential primary in South Carolina was held on January 19, 2008, a week earlier than the Democratic primary.
Results of prior primaries
* 1992: Bill Clinton won with approximately 69% of the vote, defeating Paul Tsongas.[2]
* 2000: Al Gore won with 92% of the vote, defeating Bill Bradley.[3]
* 2004: John Edwards won with 45% of the vote, defeating John Kerry.[4]
Q: When is the primary?
A: Saturday.
Q: What's at stake for the Democrats?
A: The campaign has come down to a clash between Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton that threatens to divide two of the party's most dependable constituencies, African-Americans who make up nearly nhalf the Democratic voters and women. Former President Bill Clinton suggested that his wife may lose because many black voters will side with Obama. A majority of black voters in South Carolina has consistently been women, so Clinton also may have trouble counting on the overwhelming support of female voters that carried her to victories in New Hampshire and last weekend in Nevada.
Q. Who really needs a boost?
A. John Edwards, who won in South Carolina, in 2004, needs to do so again to prove he belongs in the race.
Q. How many Demoratic delegates are up for grabs?
A. There are 45 elected delegates. Candidates who get at least 15 percent of the vote get a share of those delegates.
Q. Who are some of Clinton's supporters?
A. Prominent black leaders from the "old guard" of the civil rights movement Rep. John Lewis, an Atlanta Democrat, former U.N. Ambassador Andrew Young, Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) and the Rev. Calvin O. Butts of Harlem's Abyssinian Baptist Church - have endorsed her.
Q. And Obama's?
A. Younger black leaders, such as Newark Mayor Cory Booker, Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) and the Rev. Raphael Warnock, pastor of Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church (the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s pulpit), have championed Obama.
2004 PRESIDENTIAL RESULTS
George Bush 58 percent, John Kerry 40.9 percent
2000 PRESIDENTIAL RESULTS
George Bush 57 percent, Al Gore 41 percent
SOUTH CAROLINA QUICK FACTS
- Population: 4,321,249 (2006)
- White, 68.5 percent, black, 29 percent
- Median household income (2004): $39,454
- 12th poorest state in the United States with 15.7 percent of people below the poverty level
- November unemployment rate: 5.9 percent
- South Carolina, the site of one of the next stops in the presidential primaries, is the nation's 11th fastest-growing state. Its 2007 population of 4.4 million grew 9.9 percent between 2000 and 2007. The U.S. population grew by 7.2 percent during that same time period.
The Palmetto State has a higher percentage of blacks, a lower percentage of Hispanics and a lower percentage of foreign-born than the nation as a whole, according to U.S. Census Bureau statistics.
According to Reuter's and the Zogby polls, Obama comes in first with a healthy lead over Clinton by 13%. While the other polls differ in the distance between the two candidates, they do give Barak Obama a minimum of 10 percentage points over Hillary Clinton. However, the Edwards campaign seems to be making a dismal showing in South Carolina and the polls indicate that he will come in at a distant third.
If the polls are accurate in this instance, it is likely that Obama will run away with the South Carolina delegates in his back pocket. Nevertheless, there are some aspects of this Primary that must be considered. There are still undecided voters, which may just decide at the last moment to pull the lever for the Clinton campaign. These undecided voters may just close the distance between the campaigns of the two front-runners, making it a very close vote.
If this were the case, then it would be difficult for either of the candidates to use Primary in particular, as a mandate to bolster their argument of electibility. It is my belief that due to whatever reasons, this Primary will be closer than expected and neither candidate will be able to use it in their favor, other than to say that they won the Primary.
It is clear that according to the poll results, Barak Obama should have an easy victory, but as we saw in New Hampshire, the polls do not always reflect the outcome.