Clinton asserts frontrunner status in White House race

Hillary Clinton defeated Bernie Sanders in a landslide in Saturday's Democratic primary in South Carolina, seizing momentum ahead of the most important day of the US presidential nomination race: next week's "Super Tuesday" showdown.

Four weeks into the White House primaries, the former secretary of state earned a decisive win in the first southern state to vote for a 2016 Democratic nominee, before the race broadens to 11 contests across the country.

"Tomorrow this campaign goes national," Clinton said to a loud roar as she thanked supporters in Columbia, South Carolina.

"We are going to compete for every vote in every state. We are not taking anything, and we are not taking anyone, for granted."

Clinton also looked beyond her battle with Sanders, referencing the "Make America Great Again" campaign slogan of Donald Trump, the frontrunner in the race for the Republican nominee.

"Despite what you hear, we don't need to make America great again. America has never stopped being great," she said.

"But we do need to make America whole again," she added, laying out an argument against the divisive rhetoric favored by Trump, who has antagonised immigrants, Muslims and campaign rivals.

"Instead of building walls, we need to tear down barriers," Clinton said.

"I know it sometimes seems a little odd for someone running for president these days and in this time to say we need more love and kindness in America," she added. "But I am telling you from the bottom of my heart, we do."

With 99 percent of precincts reporting, Clinton stood at 73.5 percent compared to 26 percent for Sanders.

The victory marks an impressive moment of redemption for Clinton who in 2008 lost badly to Barack Obama in a state where the majority of Democrat voters are African-Americans.

Saturday's result was a foregone conclusion of sorts, with Sanders leaving early on Saturday for Texas and then Minnesota, two states in play next Tuesday when the Vermont senator needs to keep his head above water if he wants to challenge Clinton deeper into the nomination race.

Sanders swiftly offered his congratulations but also insisted he was in it for the long haul.

"Let me be clear on one thing tonight. This campaign is just beginning," he said in a statement.

"We won a decisive victory in New Hampshire. She won a decisive victory in South Carolina. Now it's on to Super Tuesday."

Clinton has now secured 544 of the 2,383 delegates needed to secure the Democratic nomination at the party's convention in July, while Sanders, her only rival, has 85 delegates.

Middle East policy

Clinton, who was secretary of state from 2009 to 2013, has presented herself as slightly more hawkish than Obama in foreign policy terms and has called for a no-fly zone in Syria.

Sanders has opposed a no-fly zone, and has also called for a broad coalition of Muslim-majority countries including Iran and Saudi Arabia to fight against the Islamic State (IS) group. Clinton has called such a coalition unviable, noting the widening rift between Sunni-led Saudi and Shia-led Iran.

The Vermont senator has also openly expressed a dislike for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but he has otherwise taken a mainline Democratic view of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, calling for a two-state solution.

Both candidates have been vocal about welcoming Syrian refugees and decrying Islamophobia. 

Among the Republicans, Trump has called for a temporary ban on all Muslims from entering the US while Ted Cruz, his closest rival, has opposed accepting Syrian refugees, with the exception of Christians who have been persecuted by IS.

Cruz has been criticised for his repeated calls for "carpet-bombing" of IS in Iraq and Syria.

Trump has 82 of the 1,237 delegate he needs to win the Republican nomination, with Cruz next best on 17 delegates.

Opinion polls currently suggest Clinton would have a slight edge over Trump in a presidential contest, but Clinton's lead in most polls falls within a standard three percent margin of error.