Tonight’s [Saturday, February 27] Democratic primary in South Carolina will end at approximately 7pm EST, and with that closing, we will get a final glimpse into the political landscape for the Democratic party before voters take to the polls on Super Tuesday.
While Hillary Clinton has won two of the first three rounds, what she’ll need to tonight is a win by a very wide margin, reliant on the support of the African-American community.
According to entrance polls that still show Clinton very well ahead, Bernie Sanders’ best hope tonight will be to weaken the impending Clinton victory. A smaller gap will cement Sanders’ ability to grasp the African-American vote and propel him into the race as he proves he’s just as qualified as Clinton to run the nation.
If Clinton takes this win with a considerably large margin of victory, her strength within the Black community will come out on top as she moves into Super Tuesday where state such as Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia host a large population of minority voters.
Part of both candidate’s numbers will be relying on the number of African-American voters who even show up to the polls. President Barack Obama‘s South Carolina victory in 2008 was the result of the large turnout of Black voters–double the amount of voters who took to the polls in 2004.
In 2008 and 2012, the hope of a Black president for the first and second time was enough to get more minorities to vote more than ever before. This week, both Clinton and Sanders have fiercely focused on African-Americans , and the number of voters who show face today will prove if their efforts were enough to motivate African-American voters looking for their next Democratic leader.
