President Joe Biden has no chance of winning over voters in South Carolina, but that isn't stopping him from bolstering support among black voters, who he believes can help hide concerns from other voters on the fence.
As the first sanctioned primary contest on the Democratic side kicks off, Biden is seeking strong support from South Carolina on Feb. 3 to launch his re-election bid officially.
One week before voters in the Palmetto State cast their votes, the president will travel to the state for the “first in the nation” Democrat primary.
“The President is excited to return to South Carolina and spend time with voters ahead of the historic, first in the national Democratic primary,” Biden campaign principal deputy campaign manager Quinton Fulks said in a statement. “President Biden has long believed that our nominating process should reflect our party’s rich diversity, and he’s following through on that commitment and his commitment to black voters, the backbone of the Democratic Party.”
According to reports, the Biden campaign sees South Carolina as a place to counteract voters' attacks and doubts about the president— who has one of the lowest approval ratings for a president in modern U.S. history.
Black voters in the state helped revive Biden’s 2020 election after he failed to secure support from Iowa, New Hampshire, and Nevada.
Reuters noted that Democrats rely on legal challenges, voter drives, and a new influx of cash as the president and other high-profile Democrats around the country parachute in.”
“Success in November depends more upon a voting demographic like you find in South Carolina than that which you would find in Iowa or New Hampshire,” Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC), a co-chairman of Biden’s 2024 campaign and a critical ally in 2020, said in a statement.
Due to a strong write-in campaign, Biden sailed to victory last week in New Hampshire against his opponent, Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN). However, Biden will not receive any delegates at the party’s nominating convention this summer after New Hampshire failed to abide by the Democratic National Committee’s primary calendar.
Biden’s support among black Americans has diminished as his radical policies took place. When he first entered office, he had more than 80 percent support. However, that number fell below 60 percent.
The president’s campaign defended Biden’s low polling numbers, saying that “polls don’t tell the full story.” They also said Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’s trips to the Southern states “aren’t from a place of worry.”