Democrat in South Carolina Heading to the Polls for the Presidential Primary

Paresh Jadhav

11 months ago

South Carolina voters will cast their vote Saturday in the Democratic presidential primary for 2024, marking its official debut after Iowa and New Hampshire.

President Joe Biden is widely expected to win 55 of Virginia’s pledged delegates, including 12 at-large ones, while Congressman Dean Phillips and author Marianne Williamson may also make waves at this election.

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President Joe Biden

Given South Carolina’s central role in the 2024 presidential race, Joe Biden has visited it like his political life depends on it. He spoke at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston – site of last year’s mass shooting which killed nine – as well as at a gathering of Black lawmakers in Columbia.

He met with local pastors and attended a voter mobilization event, hoping to regain some of the energy that propelled him through Iowa and New Hampshire to victory in 2020.

While many Democratic-leaning voters in South Carolina expressed support for Vice President Biden, some expressed reservations over his policies and leadership. Younger voters such as Tierra Albert from Claflin University in Orangeburg expressed frustration that Biden’s plan to eliminate college student loan debt failed and wanted more transparency around that failure. Other voters voiced worries over inflation and economic concerns while criticizing Israel’s bombing campaign against Gaza killing civilians.

Vice President Kamala Harris

Kamala Harris, seeking her party’s nomination as president in 2024, has focused her campaign this week in South Carolina as she competes with voters who will have outsized influence in choosing her candidate. Some PACs, like Emily’s List and its backers plan to spend millions to boost Harris’ prospects both during South Carolina’s primary and beyond.

The group emphasizes its central aim, which is ensuring more opportunities exist for women who support abortion rights to secure elected office. According to this organization, Harris enjoys high approval among Black voters.

Harris spoke at both Zion Baptist Church in Blythewood for King Day at the Dome and at a campaign event in Lower Richland earlier this week, encouraging residents to vote, as they did during 2020 when President Joe Biden won his Democratic nomination and went on to the White House with their help – winning the state primary, defeating former Gov. Nikki Haley among others.

Congressman Dean Phillips

Congressman Dean Phillips of Minnesota was an underdog from the start, yet when he announced his presidential run last fall it barely registered on national radar. Phillips backed President Biden’s push to alter the Democratic nominating calendar this year by prioritizing South Carolina over Iowa and New Hampshire primaries; hoping it would give him an edge when competing for support among Black voters against Biden.

Phillips’ visit to Columbia proved more of a wake-up call than an exultant return, speaking only briefly at an event that could easily fit inside Steel Hands Brewery and having to hound his audience to listen to his stump speech. That gave a good indication of the challenges Phillips will face in unseating an incumbent president; an Emerson College poll conducted early January found that 69% of Democratic primary voters in South Carolina intended to vote for Biden with only 5% supporting Phillips and 3% opting for author Marianne Williamson who will also appear on ballot Feb 3.

Author Marianne Williamson

Joe Biden will begin his path toward winning the Democratic nomination with South Carolina, the state that saved his campaign four years ago. Biden faces relatively mild competition from U.S. Representative Dean Phillips of Minnesota and author Marianne Williamson who both ran in 2020.

Emerson College released a late January poll revealing that nearly three-quarters of likely Democratic primary voters favor Biden over Trump in this race, while only 53% support him among Republican primary voters.

Voter turnout in North Carolina’s primary is anticipated to be high, which will award 55 pledged delegates to their party’s convention proportionally based on results of both statewide and congressional district votes. Voters may cast ballots in support of former Gov. Nikki Haley who is challenging Trump in an otherwise red state; such action may delay or deny Trump the nod in an otherwise competitive field.