Today’s primary is the first to test the Democratic candidates’ popularity among a large number of black voters: Preliminary exit poll results indicate that blacks account for six in 10 South Carolina Democratic primary voters today, possibly on pace to break the state’s record, 55 percent in 2008 – more […] Read more »
Margin of Victory Will Matter as Clinton Counts on Black Voters in South Carolina
After three contests, Hillary Clinton leads Bernie Sanders by the slimmest of margins in the Democratic primary, 51 to 50 in delegates. But she hasn’t yet tapped into what is probably her greatest strength: black voters. CONT. Nate Cohn, New York Times Read more »
How ‘Values Voters’ Became ‘Nostalgia Voters’
The South Carolina Republican primary results present long-time observers of white evangelical Protestants’ political behavior with a conundrum. How did Donald Trump—a twice-divorced, casino-owning New Yorker who curses during campaign speeches and is prone to church-related gaffes such as accidentally putting cash into the communion plate—win in this southern state […] Read more »
Two Saturday Surprises
Two surprising results came out of the Nevada Democratic caucuses and South Carolina Republican primary Saturday: in the former, Bernie Sanders’ showing among Hispanics; in the latter, Donald Trump’s performance among evangelicals. Each is worth a closer look. CONT. Gary Langer, ABC News Read more »
Donald Trump’s Curiously Strong Support Among Evangelicals
So far, evangelical voters in three states have weighed in on their preference in the race for the Republican presidential nomination. In both Iowa and New Hampshire, evangelical voters were less likely than non-evangelical voters to support Donald Trump — by 7 and 11 points, respectively. But South Carolina’s primary […] Read more »
The New Shape of the Republican Race
After his solid, broadly based victories in New Hampshire and South Carolina, Donald Trump now holds a commanding position in the race for the Republican presidential nomination. But Trump still faces two “known unknowns,” to borrow the memorable phrase from former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, an architect of the Iraq […] Read more »