COLUMBIA, S.C. – Joe Biden decisively won the South Carolina primary on Saturday, delivering the former vice president a much-needed victory that he hopes will mark the beginning of a comeback for his presidential campaign.
Biden’s victory is his first since voting began in the Democratic nominating contest earlier this month. It follows lackluster finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire, as well as a distant second-place showing in Nevada last week that eroded his standing in polls and raised questions about his electability.
The Associated Press called the race for Biden soon after polls closed at 7 p.m. ET.
The former vice president and his allies argued heading into Saturday that a victory in the Palmetto State would effectively act as a reset for his campaign and prove him to be the best candidate to assemble a diverse coalition of voters needed to recapture the White House in November.
Biden’s win on Saturday owes in no small part to turnout in the primary. Early exit polls show that the electorate was more diverse and more moderate than in the first three nominating contests. Black voters once again made up a majority of the primary electorate – about 55 percent.
But the electorate was somewhat whiter than in 2016, when black voters accounted for about 61 percent of those who cast ballots in the South Carolina primary.
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Biden wins South Carolina primary https://t.co/2qT3iPrPLq pic.twitter.com/riIAsddfEr
— The Hill (@thehill) March 1, 2020
Here's the state of play in South Carolina with 50% of precincts reporting.
Watch the votes come in: https://t.co/wjqYPXdeTN pic.twitter.com/Zgg3ZsBkmO
— POLITICO (@politico) March 1, 2020
Biden went from merely being +4 points or so over Sanders in the SC polling average after New Hampshire to winning by (probably) 20+ tonight. We can debate the implications of that and why it happened, but that's a pretty serious surge and not to be taken lightly.
— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) March 1, 2020
“Just days ago, the press and the pundits had declared this candidacy dead," Joe Biden said tonight after his win in South Carolina. "Now thanks to all of you… we've just won and we won big because of you. And we are very much alive!”
The latest: https://t.co/oH5oQWLz4F pic.twitter.com/9BdlcXyMm7
— POLITICO (@politico) March 1, 2020
Joe Biden won a blowout victory in the South Carolina primary. Here are the complete results with 100% of the precincts reporting: https://t.co/wjqYPXdeTN pic.twitter.com/Ky4hW4E3Fn
— POLITICO (@politico) March 1, 2020
Popular vote totals for the first four primaries: Biden 29.4%, Sanders 23.6%, Buttigieg 15.3%, Warren 10.0%, Klobuchar 9.6%.
— Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) March 1, 2020
Joe Biden can now run as the youngest male candidate left in the field.
— Sam Stein (@samstein) March 1, 2020
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