Biden secures key backing in S. Carolina

Pre-primary nod from top black House lawmaker

CHARLESTON, S.C. • Former U.S. vice-president Joe Biden on Wednesday secured the endorsement of James Clyburn, an influential black congressman from South Carolina, which could prove pivotal to his White House bid.

Biden was among the Democratic White House contenders campaigning in South Carolina ahead of Saturday’s primary.

Clyburn’s endorsement carries weight in a state where black voters make up about 60 per cent of the Democratic electorate. Biden is counting on his traditional support from black voters there after a fourth-place finish in Iowa, a fifth-place finish in New Hampshire and securing second in Nevada.

“I’m here, heart and soul, with everything I’ve got to earn the support of the people of South Carolina. Nothing is expected or guaranteed,” Biden said at the conference where Clyburn announced his endorsement.

Clyburn, the highest-ranking black lawmaker in Congress, said of Biden he could “think of no one with the type of integrity, no one more committed to the fundamental principles to make this country what it is than my good friend.”

Most of the Democratic presidential candidates kicked off Wednesday with speeches at a breakfast hosted by the National Action Network, founded by civil rights leader Al Sharpton.

The candidates acknowledged the jabs they threw at each other hours earlier but pledged to eventually unify behind one candidate. Opinion polls have shown Sanders cutting into Biden’s lead with black voters, and the latest Reuters/ipsos poll showed Sanders surpassing Biden.

In Tuesday’s debate, candidates shouted over one another and plowed past their time limits, arguing that nominating Sanders would cost Democrats the White House and control of Congress.

Former mayor Pete Buttigieg criticized Sanders for the changing estimates on the costs of his proposals such as government-run health care.

“I can tell you exactly how it all adds up. It adds up to four more years of Donald Trump,” Buttigieg said.

Sanders has taken command of the Democratic race after his resounding win last week in Nevada. Tuesday’s debate was the last chance for his opponents to stop his momentum before the South Carolina primary and next week’s Super Tuesday.

Sanders held his ground, defending health care as a human right and saying his economic and social justice agenda, including his Medicare for All plan, is supported by the American people.

Underscoring the high stakes, even Elizabeth Warren, a senator from Massachusetts and a progressive ally of Sanders, took a swing at her old friend, saying she was more likely to get a “progressive agenda enacted.”