A win was expected in South Carolina for Hillary Clinton, the presumptive frontrunner of the Democratic primary. But after a closer than anticipated results in Iowa and Nevada, and a clear defeat in New Hampshire, the Clinton Camp began to get nervous. She needed more than just a win here, she needed to destroy Sanders in the state.
Would her lead among African Americans hold? Would her a southern firewall repel the Sanders insurgency?
Well it did, and very impressively so. In South Carolina Clinton won with a lead of almost 50 percentage points, 74% to Sander’s 26%. Among African Americans, where she ended up winning 87%,her lead was even greater.
The result is a sign that Clinton’s self proclaimed frontrunner status is indeed justified. Although Sanders must have expected to lose in South Carolina, the margin by witch he was squashed here doesn’t bode well for his presidential ambitions. Winning predominantly white and liberal states won’t suffice to make it to the White House.
On Super Tuesday, where a large amount of delegates will be allocated, Clinton can now count on states with large African American populations like Alabama, Georgia, and of course Clinton’s home state Arkansans.
Even if Sander’s manages to eek out wins in all state’s where he can compete against Clinton, Massachusetts, Colorado, Minnesota, Oklahoma, and his home-state of Vermont, he will still be trailing Clinton in delegates unless he wins these states by very wide margins. If he loses all states but Vermont (where he is guaranteed to win) his campaign is effectively over.
However the day that the Democratic primary and Bernie Sander’s campaign will likely be decided is not Super Tuesday, it is March 15th. That day really big states like  Illinois and Florida, where Bernie has a reasonable chance of winning go to the polls. A strong showing on Super Tuesday along with a great day on March 15th could still propel Sanders into the top spot.