Hillary Clinton eyes victory as South Carolina votes

Democratic presidential candidate former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton greets customers at Yo Mama's restaurant on February 27, 2016 in Birmingham, Alabama. Hillary Clinton held a campaign rally in Alabama before returning to South Carolina for her South Carolina primary night event. PHOTO | AFP

What you need to know:

  • Democrats are taking centre stage in South Carolina, where 55 per cent of voters in the 2008 Democratic primary were black.

  • Polling stations opened their doors at 7am though voters were scarce at such an hour of a Saturday morning.

  • By contrast, Sanders received a cool welcome from the same crowd when he arrived unexpectedly at the event on the heels of the former secretary of state.

COLUMBIA, Saturday

Hillary Clinton is eyeing a decisive win in South Carolina’s Democratic presidential nomination race, with the hope of gaining momentum against Bernie Sanders before the upcoming high-stakes “Super Tuesday” contests.

Just one week after Donald Trump barrelled to victory in the state’s Republican vote, Democrats are taking centre stage in South Carolina, where 55 per cent of voters in the 2008 Democratic primary were black.

Clinton is favoured to win the southern state, and already leads in the delegate count at this early stage, having won two of the first three nomination contests — in Iowa and Nevada.

Polling stations opened their doors at 7am though voters were scarce at such an hour of a Saturday morning.

“It would be a super send-off to do well here,” Clinton told several hundred people, most of them African Americans, who gathered on Friday for an oyster roast and fish fry at the county fairgrounds in Orangeburg.

By contrast, Sanders received a cool welcome from the same crowd when he arrived unexpectedly at the event on the heels of the former secretary of state.

“In 1963, I was there with Dr (Martin Luther) King for the March on Washington for jobs and freedom,” he said, earning some applause.