Winner of the Yesterday's Primaries: Sarah Palin

Last night was a very big night for women, specifically Republican women. Even though she wasn't on the ballot anywhere, one woman in particular won the day in a big way for the GOP. The candidates that were endorsed by Sarah Palin faired very well in the primaries:

Some of Sarah Palin’s riskiest endorsements scored major victories Tuesday for the former Alaska governor, showing off her power in Republican primaries. 

Palin had four primary endorsements in play – Carly Fiorina, Nikki Haley, Terry Branstad and Cecile Bledsoe – and three won or moved on to a runoff.

This shows the former governor of Alaska still has a lot of political pull, especially among the conservative base:

Perhaps Palin’s most powerful demonstration came in South Carolina, where her endorsement propelled a major swing in the polls for Haley’s primary campaign for governor and sustained the state representative through accusations of two separate affairs. 

"Her decision to get - and stay - involved in the race here in South Carolina was a huge boon to our campaign, because it caused a lot of South Carolinians to take a second look at a rising in the polls but once-little known state legislator who was fighting to give them back their government,” Haley spokesman Tim Pearson said of Palin.

This will give Palin more confidence that she could make a legitimate run for the White House in 2012, but will the adoration that conservatives have for her translate into votes in 2012, especially from independents? It's too early to tell, but if the candidates are received well and people believe that they have performed well in office on their behalf, then, it could parlay her into people giving her a chance. She has a long way to go to repair her national image after it was damaged during the debacle of her various disastrous interviews during the 2008 election. While it won't completely repair her image, it is a good start.