(Columbia) Feb. 4, 2004 - North Carolina Senator John Edwards claimed victory over Massachusetts Senator John Kerry on Tuesday night in the Palmetto State's first in the South Democratic Presidential Primary.

Edwards won 45 percent of the vote, followed by Kerry with 30 percent. The Reverend Al Sharpton was in third with 10 percent, followed by retired general Wesley Clark at seven percent. See full results here>>

Wednesday morning the South Carolina Democratic Party's "Boiler Room," a humming communications hub the night before, was subdued as people continued to clean up and pack, a process begun at 2:00am.

South Carolina Democratic Party Chairman Joe Erwin says the primary went incredibly smoothly, and he says the real story is voter turnout. The Democrats are projecting 290,000 voters participated in the primary, more than double the 114,000 voters who participated in the 1992 presidential primary.

That record was set when the primary was held late in the season after Bill Clinton had effectively won the party's nomination. It's still much lower than the 570,000 people who voted in the Republican presidential primary in South Carolina in 2000.

Erwin says exit polls suggest 25 percent of voters Tuesday were independents, "That is important for us as an organization. We hope to cultivate those independent voters and let them know that we welcome them into our party anytime they choose to enter into our party."

The chairman hopes the large number of independent voters and the large voter turnout indicate growth for the state party. He says his next mission is working on the senate race of current state education superintendent Inez Tenenbaum.

Katon Dawson is chairman of the South Carolina Republican Party, "It's the last time you'll see a candidate in South Carolina and the last time John Edwards will win anything in South Carolina." He says in the race for president, even Democrats know the Palmetto State is Bush country, "It's a high stakes poker match. They're not going to gamble in South Carolina."

Erwin disagrees after Tuesday's showing, "We sent a message to the Republicans we're going to compete."

Up next for the presidential candidates are caucuses this weekend in Michigan, Washington state and Maine. Tennessee and Virginia hold primaries next week.

Sentator Edwards is already looking ahead to those two states. He rallied supporters in Memphis, trying to build on his southern success in South Carolina.

General Clark also battling for Tennesse support. He is looking to build on his win over Edwards in Oklahoma. Tennessee is expected to be another tight race between those two candidates.

Howard Dean is vowing to fight back, putting his focus on this weekend's caucuses in Michigan and Washington state. Dean says he plans to fight all the way through the primaries. He has yet to pick up any states.

Frontrunner John Kerry spent the day working in Massachusetts. He plans to visit Maine and Michigan on Thursday.

Reporting by Megan Hughes
Updated 5:43pm by BrettWitt