Edwards wins S.C. primary

Native son John Edwards easily beat John Kerry and kept his campaign alive with a victory in South Carolina’s Democratic primary on Tuesday.

Edwards, who was banking on the first-in-the-South primary, had a strong showing among independents, Democrats and even Republicans, according to exit polls of voters conducted for The Associated Press by Edison Media Research and Mitofsky International.

“We won South Carolina in a resounding fashion and won both the African-American and white vote in South Carolina, and we go from here to other states — Michigan, Virginia and Tennessee,” Edwards told The Associated Press. “It’s very easy to lay out the map to get us to the nomination.”

In unofficial returns with 69 percent of the precincts reporting, Edwards had 45 percent of the vote to Kerry’s 30 percent. Al Sharpton garnered 10 percent of the vote, and the four other candidates were in single digits.

Voters said the economy, jobs and health care were top issues in choosing a candidate. Edwards, whose campaign focused on South Carolina’s shuttered textile mills and rising health care costs, resonated well with those critical voters.

“I think tonight I proved that I can win the White House and change the country in a way that strengthens the millions of middle-class families that Bush has forgotten and lift up the 35 million Americans who live in poverty,” he said.

Edwards, a North Carolina senator who was born in the Upstate, sprinted across the state during the past week and rallied supporters through the final hours of the primary.

“It’s a long way from that little house in Seneca, South Carolina, than here tonight,” Edwards said to a cheering crowd at his victory party downtown.

“He not only did what he had to do, but he did it in a handsome fashion,” said Francis Marion University political scientist Neal Thigpen.

Voter turnout was vigorous for a Democratic primary in the heavily Republican state. It also was better than expected after election officials dropped the requirement for voters to sign an oath binding them to the Democratic Party.

Kerry, a Massachusetts senator, had not been to the state in four months until attending a presidential debate in Greenville last week.

But momentum from back-to-back wins in Iowa and New Hampshire and endorsement from two top South Carolina Democrats — Sen. Ernest “Fritz” Hollings and Rep. Jim Clyburn — helped bolster his campaign to compete with Edwards, Thigpen said.

Supporters were lined up, but “the network had not been nurtured,” Thigpen said of Kerry’s prolonged absence.

Blacks who make up about 30 percent of South Carolina’s population comprised almost half of the voters in Tuesday’s primary. Nine in 10 black voters supported Edwards, Kerry or the Rev. Al Sharpton, the only black candidate in the race.

“He’s a black Democrat, and we need someone that’s our race to stand up for us,” said Lizea Carter, 37, of Batesburg, who voted for Sharpton.

Veronica Watkins, 44, of Columbia said she voted for Edwards because she could relate with him the best.

“He sees that things are uneven and not balanced and it needs to get balanced,” said Watkins, a jail guard. “I heard him on television, and I liked what I saw.”

Watkins also thinks Edwards can beat President Bush.

“There’s a lot of people, even Republicans, that aren’t satisfied with what went down,” she said, referring to health care, taxes and education.

William Keisler, 75, of Leesville considers himself an independent and cast his ballot for Edwards.

“Well, Edwards is a native of South Carolina and that’s the main reason. That doesn’t necessarily mean I’ll vote Democrat next election,” he said. “Well, a lot can happen between now and November.”

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