Fears mount about Biden's South Carolina firewall [View all]

[brooklynite]

The Hill

Joe Biden is counting on his firewall of support in South Carolina to help him win the 2020 presidential nomination. But Democrats are warning that if the former vice president doesn't perform well in Iowa and New Hampshire, his lead in South Carolina could be in jeopardy.

In recent weeks, Biden has been losing ground in the first two early voting states, according to polling. And if he falls behind Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) or South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg, he will have to reassert his case to voters, Democratic strategists and political observers say.

“Bad losses in Iowa and New Hampshire, and some other states, could easily hurt Biden,” said Julian Zelizer, a professor of public affairs and history at Princeton University.

So far, the former vice president has retained strong support from voters in South Carolina. A couple of recent surveys showed approximately one-third of likely voters in the Palmetto State plan to support Biden.