Obama in desperate battle
2008-01-26 22:51
Columbia - South Carolina Democrats voted on Saturday in a bitter presidential nominating race, with Barack Obama leading Hillary Clinton in polls and counting on heavy black support to carry him to a needed victory.
Voter turnout was heavy soon after polls opened at 07:00 under cloudy skies and chilly temperatures around much of the state, with long lines at polling places reported in early morning balloting.
Record turnout of more than 300 000 is expected in the
first Democratic primary in the South, where black voters are
likely to make up about half of the electorate.
Stakes high for Obama
"I am absolutely convinced that we can win here, and we can
win anywhere in the country," Obama, an Illinois senator, said
at a late-night rally in Columbia that capped a week spent
campaigning heavily across the state.
South Carolina is the latest test for Obama and Clinton, a
New York senator, in their escalating battle for the right to
represent the Democratic Party in November's presidential
election.
After two consecutive losses, in New Hampshire and Nevada,
Obama needs a win on Saturday if he hopes to head into the February 5 "Super Tuesday" contests in 22 states with a realistic chance
of victory.
The high stakes fuelled a week of angry accusations, harsh
advertisements and increasingly personal jabs between the two
candidates, capped by a volley of attacks on Obama from
Clinton's husband, former President Bill Clinton.
Hillary Clinton spent Saturday chatting with voters in two
restaurants before heading to Tennessee for a town hall meeting
in Nashville, leaving South Carolina before polls close.
The other candidate in the Democratic race, former North
Carolina Senator John Edwards, chastised his two rivals for their
squabbling and ran ads promoting himself as the grown-up in the
contentious nominating battle.
Edwards said the tone of the South Carolina contest was
disappointing: "There's been a lot of effort by the other two
candidates to tear each other down which is why I'm focused on
the voters and doing positive things."