THE VOTES ARE IN
Joe Biden wins South Carolina Democratic primary – as Sanders takes hit and Trump mocks ‘mini Mike’ Bloomberg’s result
JOE Biden won today's South Carolina's Democratic primary — putting a halt to Sen. Bernie Sanders' recent winning streak ahead of the 2020 presidential election.
, 77, was the clear favorite going into today's vote in , with strong support from African American and white moderate voters.
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responded to the win , writing: "Sleepy Joe Biden's victory in the South Carolina Democrat Primary should be the end of Mini Mike Bloomberg's Joke of a campaign."
"After the worst debate performance in the history of presidential debates, Mini Mike now has Biden split up his very few voters, taking many away!"
Speaking to his supporters Saturday night, Biden said that "just days ago, the press and the pundits declared this candidacy dead."
"Now, thanks to all of you — the heart of the Democratic Party — we just won, and we've won big because of you."
"For all those of you who've been knocked down, counted out, left behind, this is your campaign."
Biden seemingly took a swipe at Sanders and Bloomberg, saying: "If Democrats want a nominee who's a Democrat — a life-life Democrat, a proud Democrat, an Obama-Biden Democrat — then join us."
In the first three primaries in , and , Biden had underwhelming performances.
Biden hopes his win in Saturday's primary will be enough to make him the clear alternative to .
Billionaire Mike Bloomberg, the former mayor of , also presents strong competition for Biden.
Shortly after Biden's speech to supporters Saturday night, billionaire Tom Steyer dropped out of the 2020 race.
Biden's win comes at a crucial moment ahead of — the day where people in will go to the polls to vote — and roughly a third of the delegates needed to win the nomination are at stake.
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The former vice president has always called his "firewall" — seemingly admitting his presidential campaign would need to win the state's votes in order for his campaign to survive.
Biden's senior adviser Symone Sanders shied away from calling it a firewall, instead calling it a "springboard — and similar to how the state boosted the presidential aspirations of in 2008 and in 2016.
At the in the state on Tuesday, Biden was strong, and also recently had a strong CNN town hall on Wednesday.
Biden was endorsed by , of South Carolina — a move that for local voters.
An exit poll by Edison Research found the backing from Clyburn was important for six out of 10 .
There was also evidence that Biden’s status as Obama’s two-term vice president helped him win over African Americans.
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South Carolina was the first big test to see the candidates' appeal among African American voters.
It gave Biden the win he needed, but he still has to prove that he has the resources to expand his ahead of Super Tuesday.
Before Biden was declared victorious, Bloomberg announced a place to deliver a three-minute address during primetime on Sunday night on two .
He didn't say how much he paid for the air time — which is unprecedented in recent decades.
Sanders was already looking ahead to Super Tuesday, betting he can amass an insurmountable delegate lead at that point.
After two victories in a row and a tie for the lead in Iowa, the 78-year-old senator's confidence is surging.
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Sanders was spending the lead-up to Super Tuesday campaigning in the home states of two major Democratic rivals, betting he can score a double knockout blow — or at least limit the size of their victories.
Jeff Weaver, a senior adviser to Sanders, said 2016's Super Tuesday taught them that any candidate who finishes the day with a delegate advantage will be hard to beat.
“I’m confident we’re going to do very, very well across the country," Weaver said of the coming four days. He also tried to downplay the importance of South Carolina, where “Biden is expected to win.”
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Saturday's election in South Carolina marks the first statewide test of its new fleet of electronic voting machines.
The machines were part of a $50 million upgrade from an old and vulnerable system that lacked any paper record of individual votes.
The new machines produce a paper record that can be verified by the voter and checked after the election to detect any malfunction or manipulation.
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