Why AP called South Carolina for Joe Biden – Chicago Tribune

President Joe Biden Won South Carolina primary The contest took place on Saturday, revitalizing the 2020 campaign and giving him his first official victory in his bid for a second term.

The Associated Press declared Biden the winner at 7:23 p.m., based on an analysis of early voting results that showed him with a decisive lead in key places across the state. Their only rivals for the vote, U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota and self-help author Marianne Williamson, are far behind.

Biden is trailing the 49% he received in the 2020 primary in a fiercely competitive field that includes U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, former South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg of Indiana and billionaire Tom Steyer, who is pouring in millions of dollars. . He dropped out after finishing third at state. South Carolina was Biden’s first victory that year after finishing fourth in Iowa, fifth in New Hampshire and a distant second in Nevada.

Four years ago, he finished first in all 46 districts in the primaries; Based on early results, he is on track to repeat that success in a much less competitive field in Saturday’s competition.

Last month, Biden won the New Hampshire primary as the write-in candidate, 44 points ahead of his closest rival, Phillips. Iowa and New Hampshire traditionally kick off the presidential primary calendar, as they did for Republicans this year, but the Democratic National Committee rearranged the calendar and moved South Carolina to first place in the coveted nation at Biden’s insistence.

Black voters play a key role in the state’s Democratic primaries. U.S. Census figures show more than a quarter of South Carolina’s population is Black, while Black voters made up half of Democratic voters in the 2020 primaries, according to the AP’s VoteCast voter survey that year.