Joe Biden wins 2020 South Carolina US Democratic presidential primary

Monday, March 2, 2020

On Saturday, former Vice President of the United States Joe Biden won the Democratic Party's South Carolina primary election. The Democratic Party uses primary elections, along with caucuses, to select its nominee for the 2020 United States presidential election.

Delegate tracker
Iowa New
Hampshire
Nevada South
Carolina
Total
Sanders 12 9 24 15 60
Biden 6 9 39 54
Buttigieg 14 9 3 26
Warren 8 8
Klobuchar 1 6 7
Total 41 24 36 54

Biden secured 39 of South Carolina's 54 delegates with about 48% of the vote, giving him a total of 54 delegates. United States Senator from Vermont Bernie Sanders came in second, with about 20% of the vote earning 15 delegates for a running total of 60. Tom Steyer came in third, receiving roughly 11% of the votes.

The South Carolina primary was the fourth step in the Democratic party's primary election cycle. In Iowa, caucuses where held on February 3, and in New Hampshire, a primary election was held on February 11. Nevada held its caucuses on February 22.

Following South Carolina's primary, Bernie Sanders had the most delegates, with 60, followed by Biden, with 54. In third was Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, who had 26 delegates that he earned in Iowa, New Hampshire, and Nevada. Additionally, Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts had 8 delegates, and Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota had 7. At least 1,991 delegates are needed to secure the party's nomination.

Following the primary, Steyer dropped out of the presidential race. Yesterday, Buttigieg followed suit, likewise dropping out of the race. Senator Klobuchar's campaign said she was ending her presidential bid today.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, the next primary election for either the Democratic or Republican Party is scheduled for tomorrow, when both parties are to hold more than a dozen primary elections.

Tomorrow, a Tuesday, is referred to as "Super Tuesday" in the context of US presidential elections due to the large number of states holding primary elections. For the Democratic Party, Super Tuesday is to include 14 states, as well as the territory of American Samoa, representing a total of 1,357 delegates. The states scheduled to hold elections are Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont and Virginia.


Sources