Clinton keeps grip on South Carolina

US election

DENMARK, South Carolina: Betty Odom-Bell, a 47-year-old entrepreneur, took a financial risk last year when she opened a restaurant in Denmark, a small town in the middle of a deeply depressed part of rural South Carolina.

So when Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton visited Denmark earlier this month promising to transform the region into a "Corridor of Opportunity", Odom-Bell felt reassured.

"It’s almost like we’re a forgotten town," she said, describing her surprise at Clinton’s visit to the town of 3,500. "With her, there’s a connection.

I don’t have that with Bernie," she said, referring to Clinton rival Bernie Sanders.

Clinton is poised to win big over the US senator from Vermont in South Carolina’s primary contest on Saturday, in part because of her outsized support among the state’s rural black poor - a bloc that Sanders has struggled to impress.

Interviews with residents in Bamberg and Allendale counties show her appeal is not just about the differences in her social policies, or her widespread name recognition.

It also results from her up-close campaigning style.

Over the past several weeks, she has stumped in parts of the state that are off the beaten-path, reinforcing connections with audiences that stretch back decades, and peppering her speeches with the names of local leaders.

Sanders in contrast, has focused his visits on South Carolina’s big cities and universities, rallying large audiences with his self-styled Democratic socialist platform, while relying heavily on surrogates to do his work elsewhere.

Plans offered by Sanders to address wealth inequality and improve access to education and healthcare have attracted interest, but many complain they do not feel they know him well enough to vote for him.

"Both of them are good candidates, but I’m leaning Hillary," said Marion Roberts, a 65-year-old retiree having coffee at a fast food restaurant on Allendale’s main street, where many storefronts are shuttered.