President Joe Biden wins South Carolina's Democratic primary as he gears up for his reelection bid

President Joe Biden easy won South Carolina's Democratic superior connected Saturday, clinching a authorities helium pushed to pb disconnected his party's nominating process aft it revived his then-struggling White House bid 4 years ago.

Biden defeated the different long-shot Democrats connected South Carolina's ballot, including Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips and writer Marianne Williamson. His reelection run invested heavy successful driving up turnout successful what it saw arsenic a trial thrust of its efforts to mobilize Black voters, a cardinal Democratic bloc cardinal to Biden's chances successful a apt November rematch against erstwhile President Donald Trump.

"In 2020, it was the voters of South Carolina who proved the pundits wrong, breathed caller beingness into our campaign, and acceptable america connected the way to winning the presidency," Biden said successful a statement. "Now successful 2024, the radical of South Carolina person spoken again and I person nary uncertainty that you person acceptable america connected the way to winning the Presidency again - and making Donald Trump a loser - again."

The Associated Press declared Biden the victor astatine 7:23 p.m. based connected an investigation of archetypal ballot results showing him with a decisive pb successful cardinal locations passim the state. He won each 55 of the state's Democratic delegates.

The triumph comes pursuing the president starring a Democratic National Committee effort to person South Carolina spell archetypal successful the party's primary, citing the state's much racially divers colonisation compared to the accepted first-in-the-nation states of Iowa and New Hampshire, which are overwhelmingly white.

South Carolina is reliably Republican, but 26% of its residents are Black. In the 2020 wide election, Black voters made up 11% of the nationalist electorate, and 9 successful 10 of them supported Biden, according to AP VoteCast, an expansive survey of that election's voters.

Biden pushed for a revamped superior calendar that volition spot Nevada spell second, holding its superior connected Tuesday. The caller bid besides moves the Democratic superior successful Michigan, a ample and divers plaything state, to Feb. 27, earlier the expansive tract of states voting connected March 5, known arsenic Super Tuesday.

New Hampshire rejected the DNC's program and held a leadoff superior past period anyway. Biden didn't run and his sanction wasn't connected the ballot, but inactive won by a sizable borderline aft supporters mounted a write-in run connected his behalf.

South Carolina, wherever Biden has agelong held heavy relationships with supporters and donors, besides played a pivotal relation successful his 2020 campaign, wherever a large triumph revived a flagging effort successful different early-voting states and propelled him to the nomination.

Biden was aided by longtime South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn whose 2020 endorsement served arsenic a long-awaited awesome to the state's Black voters that Biden would beryllium the close campaigner to advocator for their interests. Clyburn remains a adjacent Biden state and said Saturday nighttime that helium believed New Hampshire's delegates should beryllium seated astatine the party's normal this summertime and that Democrats should debar immoderate further infighting.

Both Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the archetypal Black pistillate and Asian American to service successful the role, person consistently thanked South Carolina's Democrats for their support. Biden was traveling this play successful California and Nevada but called into a bid of Black vigor stations crossed South Carolina and told WWDM successful Sumter, "The lone crushed I'm talking to you contiguous arsenic president of the United States of America is due to the fact that of South Carolina. That is not hyperbole. That's a fact."

Campaigning successful the authorities past week, the president said South Carolina was "the crushed Donald Trump is simply a loser. And you're the crushed we're going to triumph and bushed him again," framing the apt wide predetermination matchup with the GOP's existent front-runner.

Earlier successful the day, Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison said, "We each cognize that we, due to the fact that of the colour of this, we, our large grandparents, our grandparents, could not ever ballot here." Harrison is simply a South Carolina autochthonal who is Black.

"For this president to say, 'Jaime, for the entirety of your life, we person started this process successful Iowa and New Hampshire, and now, we're going to commencement it successful South Carolina' - nary different president earlier ever decided to interaction that issue," helium added. "But Joe Biden did, and I volition ever beryllium grateful to the president for giving america a chance, for seeing us, and knowing however overmuch we matter."

Black voters interviewed during the caller aboriginal voting play listed a scope of reasons for supporting Biden, from his administration's defence of termination rights to appointing Black jurists and different minorities to the national courts. Some echoed Biden's warnings that Trump would endanger ideology arsenic helium continues to propulsion lies that the 2020 ballot was stolen.

"We can't unrecorded with a person that volition marque this into a dictatorship. We can't unrecorded successful a spot that is not a democracy. That volition beryllium a autumn for America," said LaJoia Broughton, a 42-year-old tiny concern proprietor successful Columbia. "So my ballot is with Biden. It has been with Biden and volition proceed to beryllium with Biden."

Some voters said they were acrophobic astir the 81-year-old Biden's age, arsenic galore Americans person said they are successful nationalist polling. Trump is 77. Both men person had a bid of nationalist flubs that person fueled skepticism astir their readiness.

"They're arsenic aged arsenic I americium and to person these 2 guys beryllium the lone choices, that's benignant of difficult," said Charles Trower, a 77-year-old from Blythewood, South Carolina. "But I would overmuch alternatively person President Biden than adjacent see the different guy."