Politico: “In the wake of South Carolina’s pivotal role in the past two competitive Democratic presidential contests, top Democrats are beginning to rethink their traditional approach to primary season, and focus their energy on the first Southern state to vote.”
“It’s a tacit acknowledgment of the essential role African American voters play within the Democratic Party as much as it is a nod to recent primary election results. With the racially diverse Obama coalition increasingly viewed as the key to the party’s future, the two early states that have historically overshadowed South Carolina — Iowa and New Hampshire — are suddenly looking outmoded to many Democrats.”
Said former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D): “The primary process in selecting a candidate will now not be determined by the Iowas and New Hampshires. It will be a long, drawn out affair, and the first big test will be South Carolina to see who is strongest among the party’s base, the African American base of the Democratic Party.”
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