Pivotal South Carolina could reshape the Democratic race heading into Super Tuesday – updates
Check back for updates throughout the day. Polls close in South Carolina at 7 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON – The stakes are high for Saturday’s South Carolina primary.
The first-in-the-South primary offers Democratic 54 delegates up for grabs — the most of any of the four early voting states. And a win Saturday could propel a new candidate into the fronrunner position as the race moves toward into Super Tuesday on March 3, when 14 states and one U.S. territory will vote.
Vice President Joe Biden is widely seen as the frontrunner in the Palmetto State and could benefit the most from the larger delegate count. He trails Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and former mayor Pete Buttigieg in the delegate count following contests in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada.
‘We’re alive, and we’re coming back’:Joe Biden stakes presidential bid on crucial South Carolina primary
But Biden is popular in South Carolina, particularly among black voters, who could account for two-thirds of the votes cast Saturday. Polls this week showed Biden with a double-digit lead over his closes rival. He also was endorsed this week by Rep. Jim Clyburn, an icon in South Carolina politics.
If Biden wins by a wide margin in South Carolina, he could boost his 15 delegates closer to Sanders’ 45 and vault him into second place. That scenario sets up an even more consequential showdown on Super Tuesday.
South Carolina Primary Results:Follow live South Carolina Democratic Primary Results
Sanders is also looking for a strong finish in the state after winning the popular vote in the first three contests and coming out of Nevada as the clear frontrunner.
In 2016, Sanders lost South Carolina by a huge margin to Hillary Clinton, 73% to 26%. Earlier this month, it appeared he had closed the gap with Biden, but recent polls show him trailing in second or third place.
Billionaire activist Tom Steyer’s performance also will closely watched Saturday. He has risen in polling in South Carolina, and is seen as having cut into Biden’s popularity with black voters.
Biden calls Trump’s coronavirus language ‘dangerous’
At a political rally Friday night in North Charleston, Trump described the coronavirus outbreak as the Democrats’ “new hoax,” suggesting they were overlooking the effort his administration has made to confront the virus.
On Saturday during a visit to a Greenville polling site, Biden called Trump’s language “absolutely dangerous.”
“Everything’s about him,” Biden said. “I know he’s a stable genius, but it’s ridiculous the thing’s he’s saying.”
– John Fritze, David Jackson and Associated Press
Candidates in South Carolina, Super Tuesday states
Sen. Elizabeth Warren greeted dozens of supporters in Columbia, South Carolina, on Saturday morning to kick off a get-out-the-vote canvass launch. The rally was Warren’s final stop in the state. She was expected to attend events in Arkansas and Texas later in the day.
Several other candidates were also headed to Super Tuesday states on Saturday. Sanders is expected to hold events in Massachusetts and Virginia. Sen. Amy Klobuchar is expected to be in Virginia, Maine and North Carolina. Buttigieg was headed to North Carolina and Tennessee.
Biden planned to attend an event in North Carolina before returning to Columbia for a primary night party at the Carolina Volleyball Center at the University of South Carolina.
Less than a mile away, Steyer was also expected to hold a primary night party in Columbia. He hosted an event in the same town Friday night featuring performances by rapper Juvenile, singer Yolanda Adams and DJ Jazzy Jeff. Video of Steyer dancing to “Back That Azz Up” at the event went viral on Twitter.
Former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, who is not on the ballot Saturday, was expected to visit Virginia and North Carolina. His campaign announced Saturday that it planned to host more than 2,400 events across 30 states in advance of Super Tuesday.
— Grace Hauck, USA TODAY
Polls open, voting begins
Polls opened at 7 a.m. in South Carolina. Voters were trickling in steadily across the state by late morning with officials expecting voting to pick up around lunchtime and later in the day.
In the drafty, chilly gym of a middle school in Seneca, South Carolina, all four precincts for Oconee County’s most populous city had already received well over 300 votes by 11 a.m.
Two voters, Connie Sanders and Barbara Eastman, are Trump supporters but decided to vote since there is no Republican primary this year. Republican groups in the Upstate have asked loyal Republicans to vote in the Democratic primary for candidates perceived to be weak in opposition to Trump.
Bernie Sanders “is more socialist than anything and I don’t agree with most of his ideas… he’s just not my cup of tea,” Connie Sanders said. She voted for Biden and Eastman for Steyer in an effort to keep Bernie Sanders out of the general election.
Meanwhile in Allendale County, Paige Williams, 37, said she’s worried about education and the character of Trump, but her most pressing concern is health care in rural Allendale County where the hospital is small and access to any medical services is limited and getting worse.
Access to health care in a county with no public transportation is a critical issue for residents, said Gwen Walker, a poll worker at Allendale Community Center.
It’s the state’s most heavily Democratic county, but also the smallest and one of the poorest with median income of $23,300, according to census data. It’s also has the highest black population in the state with 83% black or African-American and 15% white, according to census data.
– Elizabeth LaFleur and Donna Isbell Walker, The Greenville News