Biden Romps to a Crucial Victory in South Carolina

In early returns, Sanders was in a much-distant second and Steyer third
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 29, 2020 6:01 PM CST
Biden Scores Crucial Win in South Carolina
Joe Biden speaks at a campaign event at Saint Augustine's University in Raleigh, N.C., Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020.   (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

South Carolina was seen as a must-win state for Joe Biden, and it turned out to be just that. In fact, it wasn't even close. Major outlets including CNN, ABC, and NBC called the race for the former VP as soon as polls closed at 7pm. Bernie Sanders was in a distant second and Tom Steyer third in early returns. (Steyer later dropped out of the 2020 race.) The big questions will be the final size of Biden's victory—the AP is already calling it "resounding"—and how the rest of the field shakes out. "The bigger the win, the bigger the bump," Biden said earlier Saturday in Greenville, per Politico. The "bump" comes days ahead of next week's Super Tuesday vote. The first returns show why the race was called so fast:

  • Joe Biden, 50%
  • Bernie Sanders, 18%
  • Tom Steyer, 11%
  • Pete Buttigieg, 7%
  • Elizabeth Warren, 6%
  • Amy Klobuchar, 3%
  • Tulsi Gabbard, 1%
(Mike Bloomberg was not on the ballot.)

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