COLUMBIA, S.C., Jan. 26 (UPI) -- Analysts say Barack Obama's projected victory in South Carolina Saturday raises questions about how the race for the Democratic nomination plays out from here.
The African-American vote was expected to be key in the Palmetto State primary election Saturday and it appeared blacks indeed threw their weight behind Obama's bid to become the first African-American U.S. president.
But analysts pointed out Obama appeared to be drawing significant support from whites, as well, in a southern state where native son John Edwards was in the field along with Hillary Clinton, the first woman to have a solid shot at the nomination.
"White people all over the country are interested in voting for Barrack Obama," conservative commentator William Bennett said on CNN. That's history."
Edwards, a former North Carolina senator, and Clinton, a senator from New York and wife of former president Bill Clinton, remained in a tight battle for second place. Edwards could be facing a Waterloo for his fading campaign. Clinton's Dixie strategy could require some retooling to broaden her appeal among minority voters in states with heavy African-American populations.
