Big win in South Carolina gives Biden's campaign new life

COLUMBIA (South Carolina) • An outpouring of black voter support propelled Mr Joe Biden to a convincing victory in South Carolina's Democratic primary, resurrecting his faltering White House bid and giving the former vice-president a chance to claim he is the moderate alternative to front runner Bernie Sanders.

The decisive win last Saturday gives Mr Biden a burst of momentum in the Democratic race to challenge Republican President Donald Trump, which broadens quickly with Super Tuesday primaries in 14 states tomorrow that will award one-third of the available national delegates.

It was the first primary win ever for Mr Biden, who is making his third run at the White House.

He won 48 per cent of the vote, or at least 36 delegates, with Mr Sanders trailing behind with 20 per cent, according to Edison Research. A candidate needs at least 1,991 delegates to win the nomination outright at the party's convention in July.

After his victory, Mr Biden took aim at Mr Sanders, an independent senator from Vermont and self-described democratic socialist whose surging campaign and calls for a political revolution have rattled a Democratic establishment worried that he is too far left to beat Mr Trump in November.

"Democrats want a nominee who is a Democrat," Mr Biden told cheering supporters in Columbia, South Carolina. "Most Americans don't want the promise of a revolution. They want more than promises, they want results."

In the wake of his decisive victory, Mr Biden was endorsed by Mr Terry McAuliffe, a former governor of Virginia and former chair of the Democratic National Committee, and US Representative Bobby Scott, an influential African-American lawmaker from Virginia - a possible sign that the Democratic establishment was starting to coalesce around his candidacy.

Mr Biden must now hope a flurry of media attention and his name recognition will help him in Super Tuesday states, where Mr Sanders' prolific fund raising has helped him build bigger organisations and broadcast far more advertisements.

Mr Sanders leads opinion polls in delegate-rich California, where three million early votes have already been cast.

Mr Biden and all of the other Democratic contenders will also face competition for the first time on Super Tuesday from billionaire and former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has blanketed the country with half a billion dollars in advertising. Mr Bloomberg skipped the first four state primaries.

But at least five states - Alabama, North Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas and Virginia - have big blocs of African-American voters that could help Mr Biden make a comeback.

His dominance in South Carolina raised questions about the continued viability of most of the other contenders.

Former South Bend, Indiana, mayor Pete Buttigieg as well as Senators Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar all were well behind in the state primary and have dwindling chances to mount a comeback.

Mr Biden desperately needed a win after poor showings in the first two nominating contests in Iowa and New Hampshire and a second-place finish in Nevada.

Exit polls found that about six of 10 South Carolina voters said influential black congressman James Clyburn's endorsement of Mr Biden was a factor in their decision.

The resounding margin could slow the momentum of Mr Sanders, who finished in a virtual tie for first in Iowa with Mr Buttigieg, before notching wins in New Hampshire and Nevada.

REUTERS