SC Gives Clinton Her Most Important Win Yet: Analysis

Hillary Clinton dealt Bernie Sanders a bruising defeat in South Carolina's Democratic primary Saturday, with early returns showing her crushing the insurgent senator by a 3-to-1 margin, NBC News reported.

While the win was no surprise, it was still one of the best nights of Clinton's second attempt at the presidency thus far because it proved the basic electoral theory of her campaign: That a strong advantage among minority voters would carry her to her party's nomination — and potentially all the way to the White House.

The resounding victory makes it clear that Sanders, despite his best efforts, has been unable to address his fundamental weakness with black voters.

African Americans represented 61 percent of the turnout in the sate's Democratic presidential primary — up from 57 percent in 2008 — and Sanders lost the group 84 percent to 16 percent, according to NBC News exit polls.

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