COLUMBIA, SC (AP) — Pres Joe Biden He easily won South Carolina's Democratic primary on Saturday, a state where he was pushed to lead his party's nominating process after reviving his struggling White House bid four years ago.
Biden defeated other long-shot Democrats on South Carolina's ballot Saturday, including Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips and author Marianne Williamson. His re-election campaign invested heavily in increasing voter turnout A test run of its efforts to mobilize black votersA key Democrat is central to Biden's chances in a November rematch against the former president Donald Trump.
“In 2020, it was the voters of South Carolina who proved the pundits wrong, breathed new life into our campaign, and put us on the path to winning the presidency,” Biden said in a statement. “Now in 2024, the people of South Carolina have spoken again and I have no doubt that you have set us on a path to win the presidency again — and defeat Donald Trump again.”
Associated Press He declared Biden the winner at 7:23 p.m Based on an analysis of early polling results, he has a decisive lead in key seats across the state.
His success comes after he leads Democratic National Committee The effort to put South Carolina first in the party's primaries points to the state's racially diverse population, compared to the traditional first-nation states of Iowa and New Hampshire, which are majority white.
is South Carolina Trusted Republican Party, but 26% of its residents are black. In the 2020 general election, black voters made up 11% of the national electorate, and 9 in 10 of them supported Biden, according to AP VoteCast, a comprehensive survey of voters from that election.
Biden pushed for a reshuffled primary calendar that would see Nevada run second, holding its primary on Tuesday. The new order moves the Democratic primary in Michigan, a large and diverse swing state, to Feb. 27, before the state's extensive voting on March 5, known as Super Tuesday.
New Hampshire rejected the DNC's plan and held a leadoff primary last month anyway. Biden is not campaigning and his name is not on the ballot, but Still successful By a significant margin after supporters mounted a write-in campaign on his behalf.
President Joe Biden, left, and first lady Jill Biden visit the Biden campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Del., Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
South Carolina, where Biden has long had deep ties to supporters and donors, played a key role in his 2020 campaign, where a big win helped revive flagging efforts in other early-voting states and propelled him to the nomination.
Biden was aided by South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn, whose 2020 endorsement served as a long-awaited signal to the state's black voters that Biden is the right candidate to advocate for their interests.
Clyburn said Saturday night that New Hampshire's delegates should sit down at the party's convention this summer and that Democrats should avoid further infighting.
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, both the first black woman and an Asian American, continued to thank the state's Democrats for their support. “You're the reason I'm president,” Biden told a crowd at a state party fundraiser a week ago. He argued the “cause” to an audience of hundreds of party loyalists Donald Trump A loser. You're the reason we won and beat him again,” to create a general election race with the GOP's current front-runner.
Earlier in the South Carolina capital of Columbia, Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison said, “Because of the color of this, we all know that we, our great grandparents, will never vote here.” Harrison is black from South Carolina.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison speaks to reporters as voting begins in South Carolina's primary Democratic presidential primary in Columbia on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024. SC Harrison describes President Joe Biden's inspiration for running the party's first primary. This year shows his commitment to black voters. (AP Photo/Mc Kinard)
No other president has ever decided before this president to say, “Jaime, for the rest of your life, we started this process in Iowa and New Hampshire, and now, we're going to start this in South Carolina.” Touch that issue,” he added. “But Joe Biden did, and I'll always be grateful to the president for giving us a chance, for seeing us and understanding how important we are.”
Black voters interviewed during the recent early voting period listed reasons for supporting Biden, from his administration's protection of abortion rights to the appointment of black judges and other minorities to federal courts. Some echoed Biden's warning Trump His continued pressure threatens democracy The 2020 vote was a lie.
“We cannot live with a leader who turns this into a dictatorship. We cannot live without democracy. That will be the downfall of America,” said Lajoya Broughton, a 42-year-old small business owner in Columbia. “So my vote is for Biden. It was with Biden and will continue to be with Biden.
Some voters are concerned about this 81-year-old Biden's ageas As many Americans have said They are in a referendum. Trump is 77. Both There were a series of public flubs raised doubts about their preparedness.
“They're as old as I am, and these two people have to be the same choice, and it's tough,” said Charles Drover, 77, of Blythewood, South Carolina. “But I'd rather have President Biden than consider the other person.”
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