Obama Wins SC in a Rout

Barack Obama scored a resounding triumph in the South Carolina primary last night, with massive support from black voters and stronger-than-expected backing from whites. Obama got 55% of the vote, more than doubling Hillary Clinton (27%) and tripling the state's native son, John Edwards (18%). Election officials said a record 530,000 voters participated, about half of whom were black, the State reports.

"We have the most votes, the most delegates, and the most diverse coalition of Americans we've seen in a long, long time," Obama told jubilant supporters afterward. He won a whopping 80 percent of the black vote, but he also got about a quarter of the white vote, the Washington Post notes. Clinton gave short thrift to the results and flew to Nashville to campaign for Super Tuesday. Edwards, still winless, vowed to fight on. (More Barack Obama stories.)