Hillary Clinton Wins South Carolina Primary, DNC Vice Chair Quits to Endorse Bernie Sanders

By Sameer Rao Feb 29, 2016

The Democratic primary race between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders just took an important turn ahead of tomorrow’s (March 1) Super Tuesday slate of primaries.

The biggest news from the weekend was Hillary Clinton’s win in Saturday’s South Carolina primary. According to The New York Times‘ election tracking, Clinton won with 73.5 percent of the vote to Sanders’ 26 percent. The win was ultimately due to the support of Black voters, who turned out in record numbers. They represented 61 percent of all Democratics who visited the booths, and 86 percent of those voters stood with the former secretary of state. The victory strengthened Clinton’s base as the candidates head into tomorrow’s Super Tuesday battle, where they will face off in 11 state primaries. 

Rising tension over the primary race allegedly compelled a Democratic National Committee (DNC) leader to vacate her position this weekend. U.S. Representative Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) resigned as one of the DNC’s five vice chairs—a position which prohibits campaigning—and endorsed Sanders during an appearance on NBC’s "Meet the Press." The congresswoman, who has Samoan roots and is a military combat veteran, told MSNBC’s "Morning Joe" today that her choice had nothing to do with internal DNC issues. Those allegations stem from conflict between Gabbard and DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz regarding Gabbard’s claims that she and other vice chairs were prevented from weighing in on the Democratic debate schedule. 

(H/t The New York Times, The Guardian, ABC News, The Washington Post, Reuters, Politico, CNN