South Carolina Primary could well be Joe Biden's last stand and where Sanders hopes to unite fractured party
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is currently the frontrunner in the Democratic race for the presidential nomination.
Following his close second finish in Iowa and wins in New Hampshire and Nevada, the veteran socialist has now begun to take a substantial lead in terms of delegates over his rivals and another decisive win in South Carolina in the primary on Saturday, February 29, will place him at a big advantage ahead of the Super Tuesday on March 3.
South Carolina will see the Democratic candidates fathoming the African-American support for the first time and though former vice president Joe Biden is predicted to win the Palmetto State because of his strong black support, one poll which was released on Monday, February 24, showed that Sanders is catching up fast.
The Biden campaign is banking heavily on SC and the candidate had left for the state even before the primary in New Hampshire concluded on February 11.
Battle between Biden and Sanders
The SC Primary is being seen as a fight between Biden and Sanders though the former needs to win really big to stay relevant in the race for the nomination.
Anton Gunn, former president Barack Obama's political director in the state in 2008, was quoted as saying by Vox: "If Joe Biden wins by a small margin, then I think his campaign is on life support. If he comes in second or worse, I think he's done."
Seen as one of the heavyweights in the Democratic race before the primary season kicked off, Biden finished fourth in Iowa, fifth in New Hampshire and a distant second in Nevada. He has only 15 delegates at the moment against Sanders' 45. Former South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg is in second place with 25 delegates.
South Carolina's Democratic electorate features 60 percent African-American and the eastern state is far more diverse when compared to white states like Iowa and NH. It is also predicted to be the trendsetter for the Super Tuesday when as many as 14 states will go to polls.
Except for the 2004 primary when John Edwards won SC primary but did poorly in the Super Tuesday that followed, several Southern states generally go the way South Carolina chooses.
South Carolina does not have early polling but people can vote ahead of the schedule through either mail-in absentee ballot or in-person absentee voting.
Fifty-four pledged delegates are up for grabs in the state and they will be allocated proportionally based on performance and guaranteed to the candidate having 15 percent support in the state or in one of the seven congressional districts. Nine are unpledged or super delegates.
"For [any candidate], that almost is the death knell for their campaigns if they don’t do well in South Carolina," Vox cited Johnnie Cordero, the head of SC's Democratic Black Caucus, as saying.
Moderate candidates in the race like Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar, the senator from Minnesota, also have a battle in their hands while billionaire candidate Tom Steyer has to ensure that his investments in the state now translate into real votes.
Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, who has also been a disappointment this primary season so far with not a single finish in the top two, was also lagging in SC but urged her supporters to keep the fight on.
SC also has an open primary system that allows Republicans or independent voters to take part in the Democratic polling.
In 2016, Hillary beat Sanders
Looking at past results in South Carolina, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton had a massive win over Sanders here in 2016 (73 to 26 percent).
In 2008, Obama defeated Hillary by 55 to 27 percentage points while he won unopposed in 2012. In 2014, Edwards defeated eventual candidate John Kerry by 45 to 30 percentage points.
There will be no primary in South Carolina for the Republicans as it was controversially canceled and all the 50 pledged delegates will go to President Donald Trump who is seeking re-election.
In 2016, Trump defeated his nearest candidate Marco Rubio by 33 to 22 percentage points while in 2012, Newt Gingrich beat eventual candidate Mitt Romney by 40 to 28 points. In 2004, too, the primary was canceled as incumbent George W Bush was seeking re-election while in 2000, he defeated John McCain by 11 points.