With 99% of the counties reporting, Barack Obama scored a decisive win in South Carolina by garnering 55% of the popular vote while Hillary Clinton got 27% and John Edwards won 18%.
The big story within the story may be the impressive turnout, which was almost double the turnout from the 2004 primary. Amo0ng the press, the story centers around race.
Going into the first Super Tuesday, the question will be, is this win due to the large turn out of African Americans in South Carolina (who make up 55% of the Democratic electorate in the state), of which Obama registered 78% of the vote or a combination of factors including young, affluent white voters voting solidly for him? The leader of the pack "O"-mentum has now swung in his direction.
For the Clinton camp, there is little good that came from finishing a distant second in the state, and for Edwards, the take away for him is that he did particularly well among white males and white voters who made up their minds within three days of the primary according to the Washington Post.
One clear message from last night's primary is that Obama can win in the south and this may carry him further in the minds of unconvinced Democrats than any other fact.
There is no ignoring that the Democrats are running against history and it is becoming clearer that the kind of change Democratic primary voters want looks less like John Edwards and more like Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
The larger looming question is that the change that the majority of voters in the November election are also ready for?
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