Joe Biden achieved an overwhelming victory on Saturday here in South Carolina, with 48 percent of the vote in his favor. The runner up, Bernie Sanders, received only 19 percent of the vote.
The win comes after disappointing results for the Biden campaign in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada.
As of Monday, Tom Steyer, Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar have dropped from the race. Buttigieg dropping comes as a surprise because of his win in Iowa and high polling results in some Super Tuesday states. Steyer seemed to be putting a lot of weight on a win in South Carolina and losing it was the last straw in a campaign that was already struggling. Klobuchar dropped from the race after having a weak performance in previous states and is reported to be endorsing Biden.
Biden’s win has given his campaign a new sense of life that was much needed if he wants to succeed going forward into Super Tuesday. One of the most surprising outcomes of the primary was the voters that propelled Biden forward.
Many did not expect Biden to be the favorite of black voters, but according to CNN, he won the vote of about 3 in 5 black voters on Saturday. According to the same exit poll, Biden had the overwhelming support from black voters over 60, but was tied with Sanders when it came to black voters under 30. This insight is important moving forward because South Carolina is the first state primary to have a majority-black precinct and this could reflect these delegates going forward.
Biden also had the overwhelming support of white voters over the age of 65, with CNN reporting that around two-thirds of the demographic supporting him. He also had the support of many moderate voters, with about half voting for him.
If the feelings of South Carolina voters reflect that of the rest of the country, we may start to see Biden overtaking his competitors in states that have more moderate and independent voters.
This is spelling a problem for people who are hoping to see a more radical Democrat like Sanders representing the party in November. Some voters have expressed that if they can’t vote for a radical Democrat, then they will feel like they’ve wasted a vote or that they shouldn’t vote at all. This is incorrect and flawed logic.
Even if the nominee elected for the Democratic party is not the ideal candidate that you might want, it is still important that we support the person running against Trump in November. This person will be our only hope to get him out of office and to start affecting any kind of good change in the federal government.
America no longer needs a leader who refers to his political rival as “Sleepy Joe” on social media. We need someone who at least has experience and wants better for Americans and all of the Democratic candidates that could face off against Trump fit that description.
No matter who is on the ballot in November, we need to vote blue no matter who.
Photo: Anna Sharpe/ The Johnsonian
