Beleaguered Biden turns to must-win South Carolina

[left-of-center2012]

South Carolina had long been viewed as former Vice President Joe Biden’s firewall in the 2020 race, but after disastrous finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire, Democrats are beginning to fear that even it may escape him, effectively dooming his campaign.

Biden currently leads in virtually every public poll out of the first-in-the-South primary state and has maintained strong support among black voters, who make up more than half of South Carolina’s Democratic primary electorate.

But after notching a fourth-place finish in the Iowa caucuses last week and fifth place in New Hampshire on Tuesday, some political observers are skeptical that he will have the momentum he needs to win in South Carolina, arguing that Feb. 29 may be too long to wait to turn around his political fortunes.

Biden, who over the course of three presidential runs has never won a primary or caucus, is facing increasingly stiff competition in the Palmetto State. Billionaire activist Tom Steyer is spending heavily there, hiring a number of local activists to staff and advise his campaign operation. Recent polls show Steyer surging into the top three in South Carolina.

Biden is hoping that his support among black voters in South Carolina can hand him the kind of resounding victory he needs. Black voters make up about 60 percent of the state’s Democratic electorate, and the former Delaware senator’s allies see that as a potential windfall. But that base of support may be showing signs of cracking. A Quinnipiac University poll released this week showed the former vice president’s support among black voters nationally plummeting to 27 percent, down from 49 percent last month. Bloomberg has risen to second place with 22 percent.

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/483037-beleaguered-biden-turns-to-must-win-south-carolina