President Joe Biden scored a landslide victory in South Carolina’s Democratic primary Saturday, with the incumbent collecting 96 percent of the vote, although turnout was low among Black voters.
The decisive win in the first state to vote in the new Democratic primary calendar comes as the incumbent seeks to reestablish himself with Black voters who have seemingly grown apathetic since helping put Biden over the top during the 2020 election.
Since then, Biden has faced increasing criticism from progressives who claimed the incumbent was losing considerable support among Black voters because he had not taken any meaningful action on reparations since taking office more than three years ago.
In Saturday’s vote, the 81-year-old Biden faced two Democratic rivals, including author and candidate Marianne Williamson — who previously expressed support for up to $500 billion in reparations — and Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota, who in January floated the idea of putting Republican billionaires Elon Musk and Bill Ackman in his cabinet if he won the presidency.
However, both Williamson and Phillips posed little if any threat to Biden as they combined for less than 4 percent of the vote, while the race was called for the incumbent only 23 minutes after polls closed.
Seemingly, Biden’s dominant victory put to rest any doubts about who the Democratic nominee would be despite recent scrutiny surrounding Biden’s ability to unite the party and as many Democrats called for a younger candidate in 2024.
The primary was the first since the Democratic National Committee changed the primary calendar, removing Iowa and New Hampshire as the initial states to vote and placing South Carolina in the starting position.
While South Carolina may not be decisive in the general election, its substantial Black population represents a key constituency that has now set the mold in influencing the Democratic nomination.
The vote was closely watched…
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