South Carolina has just about finished up with the primaries on both sides, and on the Democratic side, Obama crushed Clinton. more than doubling her vote count.288,820 to 138,758 (with 98% reporting in).
About the only thing that surprises me about these results is the magnitude of Obama’s win. This election wasn’t even close. According to CNN’s exit polls, lots of people liked Obama: men, women, young folks, black folks, churchgoers, the non-religious. Clinton did best among old people, and Edwards was a hit with white people over 30.
520,627+ came out to vote for one of the Democratic candidates. That’s a pretty nice turnout for this red state. Compare to the Republican numbers: 442,918 total votes. Obama alone got more voters to come out for him than both leading Republicans (McCain and Huckabee) put together. That goes along with what I’ve been seeing in my community – which is both quite conservative and quite religious. People are excited about the Democratic candidates. The Republican field is simply uninspiring – even to a state as red as South Carolina.