BIDEN WINS SOUTH CAROLINA PRIMARY
‘It’s clear we are very much alive’
Former Vice President Joe Biden notched his first victory of the 2020 presidential primary race Saturday with a resounding win in South Carolina that will give his campaign a sorely needed boost in momentum heading into the critical Super Tuesday contests.
“Those of you that have been knocked down, counted out, left behind — this is your campaign,” Biden said in Columbia, S.C. “The press and the pundits declared this candidacy dead. Now, thanks to all of you, the heart of the Democratic Party, we just won and we’ve won big because of you. And we are very much alive.”
The 77-year-old Biden was visibly elated by his blowout win, declaring, “This campaign is taking off,” before delivering a forceful speech about the state of the Democratic race with just two days to go until voters in 14 states go to the polls Tuesday.
Biden took an implicit shot at Bernie Sanders, the Independent Vermont senator and self-proclaimed democratic socialist who underperformed with a distant second-place finish Saturday. Biden said if the party wants “a nominee who’s a Democrat, a lifelong Democrat, a proud Democrat, an Obama-Biden Democrat — join us.”
Sanders congratulated Biden from a rally in Virginia Beach, Va., after stumping through Boston earlier in the day.
The senator chose to leave the South Carolina on the eve of the primary for an overnight swing through Massachusetts.
“There are a lot of states out there and tonight we did not win in South Carolina,” Sanders said to boos from his supporters. “That will not be the only defeat. There are a lot of states in this country. Nobody wins them all.”
Sanders quickly looked to refocus, saying, “Now we head to Super Tuesday.”
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren also offered Biden congratulations from her rally in Houston, Texas, as candidates fanned out across the country ahead of Super Tuesday.
“I’ll be the first to say that the first four contests haven’t gone exactly as I’d hoped.” said Warren, who has yet to finish above thirdplace and was heading for a fifth-place finish in South Carolina behind former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg.
But, she said, “Our campaign is built for the long haul.”
South Carolina marked the end of the line for California billionaire Tom Stey
er, who dropped out after a third-place finish, saying, “I can’t see a path where I can win the presidency.”
The Palmetto State delivered Biden his first-ever win in a presidential primary contest. He exited the 1988 race before voting began and dropped out in 2008 after losing in Iowa.
This cycle, Biden had finished fourth in Iowa and fifth in New Hampshire before rebounding to a second-place finish in Nevada last Saturday.
Biden was seemingly boosted by an endorsement from powerful House Majority Whip James Clyburn, D-S.C., in the state long considered his “firewall” given his support among black voters. South Carolina marked the first major test of whether the candidates could appeal to one of the most loyal voting blocs in the Democratic Party.