COLUMBIA, S.C. — Sen. Barack Obama and media tycoon Oprah Winfrey brought their celebrity-endorsement tour to this pivotal Southern state Sunday, drawing thousands -- mostly African Americans and women -- in what Obama called the biggest event of his presidential campaign.
The visit was a test of the candidate's strength in a state that votes Republican in national contests but has a large black population. African Americans make up nearly half of all Democratic voters in South Carolina, and women account for more than half of the state's black Democratic vote.
Winfrey and Obama appealed directly to that demographic, peppering their speeches with "y'all" and "you folks." They made several references to church attendance, beauty parlors and God, and quoted the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
Winfrey received the loudest ovation of the hourlong rally when she was introduced by Obama's wife, Michelle, as "the first lady of television." But the Illinois senator had the crowd on its feet several times with promises to end the war in Iraq, confront inner-city poverty and revamp healthcare.
Obama repeated his signature campaign slogan: "Fired up! Ready to go!" The crowd chanted along with him. Thousands cheered as the normally reserved candidate began dancing to a Stevie Wonder tune.
The Obama campaign announced the crowd at 29,000. The number appeared to be slightly lower, with roughly one-quarter of the seats filled in the 80,000-capacity University of South Carolina football stadium.
Whether Winfrey's popularity will translate into votes for Obama in the state's Jan. 26 primary is an open question.
Kevin Griffis, a spokesman for the campaign, said the "Oprah effect," at the very least, means that voters who had not previously paid much attention to Obama had come out to hear his message in person.
Scott H. Huffmon, a political science professor at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., who has polled the state's black electorate, said Winfrey's presence made Obama "salient" to voters -- even if some people came only to see her and might not vote.
"And a lot are probably already Obama supporters," Huffmon said. "The key to any endorsement, celebrity or otherwise, is winning over people who aren't in your column."
Other political analysts said Winfrey could give Obama a boost in South Carolina as well as the two other states she visited with the candidate over the weekend, Iowa and New Hampshire.
