2020 South Carolina Democratic presidential primary explained

Election Name:2020 South Carolina Democratic presidential primary
Country:South Carolina
Type:presidential
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:2016 South Carolina Democratic presidential primary
Previous Year:2016
Next Election:2024 South Carolina Democratic presidential primary
Next Year:2024
Outgoing Members:NV
Election Date:February 29, 2020
Elected Members:AL
Votes For Election:64 delegates (54 pledged, 10 unpledged)
to the Democratic National Convention
The number of pledged delegates won is determined by the popular vote
Party Name:no
Image1:File:Joe Biden February 2020 crop.jpg
Candidate1:Joe Biden
Color1:224192
Home State1:Delaware
Delegate Count1:39
Popular Vote1:262,336
Percentage1:48.6%
Candidate2:Bernie Sanders
Color2:228b22
Home State2:Vermont
Delegate Count2:15
Popular Vote2:106,605
Percentage2:19.8%
Image3:File:Tom Steyer by Gage Skidmore (cropped).jpg
Candidate3:Tom Steyer
Color3:d2691e
Home State3:California
Delegate Count3:0
Popular Vote3:61,140
Percentage3:11.3%
Image4:File:Pete Buttigieg by Gage Skidmore (cropped).jpg
Candidate4:Pete Buttigieg
Color4:f2ba42
Home State4:Indiana
Delegate Count4:0
Popular Vote4:44,217
Percentage4:8.2%
Image5:File:Elizabeth Warren by Gage Skidmore (cropped).jpg
Candidate5:Elizabeth Warren
Color5:b61b28
Home State5:Massachusetts
Delegate Count5:0
Popular Vote5:38,120
Percentage5:7.1%

The 2020 South Carolina Democratic presidential primary took place on February 29, 2020, and was the fourth nominating contest in the Democratic Party primaries for the 2020 presidential election. The South Carolina primary was an open primary and awarded 64 delegates to the 2020 Democratic National Convention, of which 54 were pledged delegates allocated on the basis of the results of the primary. Former vice president Joe Biden and senator Bernie Sanders were the only candidates to earn delegates. Biden won 48.7% of the popular vote and notably placed first in every county in the state; it was his first ever win in a presidential primary. Sanders came in second place and won 19.8% of the popular vote. Businessman Tom Steyer, who had staked his entire campaign on the state, placed third but did not surpass the threshold and dropped out of the race, endorsing Biden.

The primary was widely interpreted as a turning point for the 2020 primaries, with Joe Biden gaining momentum going into the pivotal Super Tuesday races three days later. Following successes in the previous primaries, former mayor Pete Buttigieg and senator Amy Klobuchar received very disappointing results and initially wanted to stay in the race, but they both suspended their campaigns shortly before Super Tuesday and endorsed Biden on the day before.[1] [2] [3] While Biden and former mayor Michael Bloomberg were left as the only moderates afterwards, the majority coalesced around Biden in the race against left-wing candidates Sanders and senator Elizabeth Warren.[4]

Procedure

Primary elections were held on Saturday, February 29, 2020. In the open primary, candidates had to meet a viability threshold of 15 percent at the congressional district or statewide level in order to be considered viable. The 54 pledged delegates to the 2020 Democratic National Convention were allocated proportionally on the basis of the results of the primary. Of these, 35 were allocated on the basis of the results within each congressional district, between 3 and 8 were allocated to each of the state's seven congressional districts. Another 7 were allocated to party leaders and elected officials (PLEO delegates), in addition to 12 at-large delegates.[5]

The precinct reorganization meetings subsequently were held on March 14, 2020, to choose delegates for the county conventions, directly followed by county conventions until March 31, to elect delegates to the state convention. On May 30, 2020, the state convention met in Columbia to elect all pledged national convention delegates. Delegates were allowed to participate from remote places due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The delegation also included 10 unpledged PLEO delegates: 8 members of the Democratic National Committee and 2 representatives from Congress.[5]

Voting was done by each voter selecting choices on a screen, so the machine printed a ballot with chosen names and a bar code. Voters could check the printed names before putting the ballot in the ballot box, though few do that.[6] A scanner counted the bar codes, not the names,[7] and no audit was required to check if the machines worked correctly.[8]

Voters could absentee vote in-person until February 28, 2020, at 5:00 pm local time (EST) or submit absentee votes by mail. Election officials recommended applying to absentee vote by-mail a week in advance so that voters had time to receive their absentee ballot and mail it in by election day.[9] [10] Polling places closed at 7:00 pm; however, anyone standing in line at 7:00 pm were still allowed to vote.[11]

Pledged national
convention
delegates[12]
Type
CD16
CD24
CD33
CD44
CD55
CD68
CD75
7
At-large12
Total pledged delegates54

Candidates

There was a $20,000 filing fee to get on the ballot, the largest in the nation. Along with the filing fee, an application[13] was required to be submitted to the South Carolina State committee by December 4, 2019.

The following candidates were placed on the ballot:[14]

Additionally, Julian Castro and Marianne Williamson were both accepted onto the ballot, but withdrew soon enough that they did not appear on the ballot.[15] Write-in votes are not permitted in South Carolina party primaries.[16]

Polling

Polling aggregation
Source of poll aggregationDate
updated
Dates
polled
Joe
Biden
Bernie
Sanders
Tom
Steyer
Pete
Buttigieg
Elizabeth
Warren
Amy
Klobuchar
Tulsi
Gabbard
Un-
decided
270 to Win[17] Feb 28, 2020Feb 23–27, 202035.8%20.2%13.4%10.0%8.2%5.0%2.6%4.8%
RealClear Politics[18] Feb 28, 2020Feb 23–27, 202039.7%24.3%11.7%11.3%6.0%5.7%2.3%
FiveThirtyEight[19] Feb 28, 2020until Feb 27, 202038.4%19.1%12.4%8.5%7.0%4.3%2.6%7.7%
Average38.0%21.2%12.5%9.9%7.1%5.0%2.5%4.9%
South Carolina primary results (February 29, 2020)48.7%19.8%11.3%8.2%7.1%3.1%1.3%
Polling in January and February 2020
Poll sourceDate(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin
Joe
Biden
Michael
Bloomberg
Pete
Buttigieg
Tulsi
Gabbard
Amy
Klobuchar
Bernie
Sanders
Tom
Steyer
Elizabeth
Warren
Andrew
Yang
OtherUndecided
South Carolina primary (popular vote)Feb 29, 202048.65%8.2%1.26%3.13%19.77%11.34%7.07%0.2%0.38%
Atlas Intel[20] Feb 25–28, 2020477 (LV)± 4.0%35%8%2%4%24%12%7%2%6%
Emerson College[21] Feb 26–27, 2020550 (LV)± 4.1%41%11%2%6%25%11%5%
Trafalgar Group[22] Feb 26–27, 20201,081 (LV)± 2.99%43.9%9.6%1.7%5.9%22.8%10.5%5.6%
Data for Progress[23] Feb 23–27, 20201416 (LV)± 2.6%34%13%3%5%25%13%7%
Change Research[24] https://1de9b613-f5ea-469f-bbea-e129fedcca0d.usrfiles.com/ugd/1de9b6_d767397866c5411fa74229dc0669a84b.pdf/
Post and Courier
Feb 23–27, 2020543 (LV)± 5.1%28%11%5%4%24%16%12%1%
Starboard Communications[25] Feb 26, 20201,102 (LV)± 2.82%40%9%2%6%11%12%9%12%
Feb 25, 2020Tenth Democratic primary debate
Monmouth University[26] Feb 23–25, 2020454 (LV)± 4.6%36%6%1%4%16%15%8%0%15%
Clemson University[27] Feb 17–25, 2020650 (LV)± 3.8%35%8%2%4%13%17%8%12%
East Carolina University[28] Feb 23–24, 20201,142 (LV)± 3.37%31%6%2%2%23%20%8%8%
Public Policy Polling[29] Feb 23–24, 2020866 (LV)± 3.3%36%7%6%3%21%7%8%11%
Feb 22, 2020Nevada caucuses
YouGov/CBS News[30] Feb 20–22, 20201,238 (LV)± 5.5%28%10%1%4%23%18%12%3%1%
Marist Poll/NBC News[31] Feb 18–21, 2020539 (LV)± 6.0%27%9%3%5%23%15%8%2%9%
997 (RV)± 4.0%25%9%3%5%24%15%8%2%9%
Winthrop University[32] Feb 9–19, 2020443 (LV)± 4.7%24%7%1%4%19%15%6%1%2%22%
University of Massachusetts Lowell[33] Feb 12–18, 2020400 (LV)± 7.5%23%11%4%9%21%13%11%4%4%
Change Research/The Welcome Party[34] Feb 12–14, 20201015 (LV)23%15%1%8%23%20%9%1%
East Carolina University[35] Feb 12–13, 2020703 (LV)± 4.3%28%6%8%1%7%20%14%7%0%8%
Feb 11–12, 2020New Hampshire primary
Yang withdraws from the race.
Feb 3, 2020Iowa caucus
Zogby Analytics[36] Jan 31 – Feb 3, 2020277 (LV)± 5.9%28%4%7%4%2%20%15%11%1%0%8%
East Carolina University[37] Jan 31 – Feb 2, 2020469 (LV)± 5.3%37%1%4%2%2%14%19%8%3%0%10%
Change Research/
Post and Courier
[38]
Jan 26–29, 2020651 (LV)± 4%25%7%3%2%20%18%11%3%1%10%
Jan 13, 2020Booker withdraws from the race
GQR Research/Unite the Country[39] Jan 9–13, 2020600 (LV)36%5%15%12%10%
Fox News[40] Jan 5–8, 2020808 (RV)± 3.5%36%2%4%1%1%14%15%10%2%3%11%
Polling before January 2020
Poll sourceDate(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin
Joe
Biden
Cory
Booker
Pete
Buttigieg
Kamala
Harris
Beto
O'Rourke
Bernie
Sanders
Tom
Steyer
Elizabeth
Warren
OtherUndecided
Change Research/
Post and Courier
[41]
Dec 6–11, 2019392 (LV)± 4.9%27%5%9%20%5%19%13%
Dec 3, 2019Harris withdraws from the race
YouGov/FairVote[42] https://www.fairvote.org/south_carolina_democratic_primary_poll_2020Nov 22 – Dec 2, 2019400 (LV)± 7.5%39%2%10%2%13%7%10%13%4%
Quinnipiac University[43] Nov 13–17, 2019768 (LV)± 4.8%33%2%6%3%11%5%13%7%18%
YouGov/CBS News[44] Nov 6–13, 2019933 (RV)± 4.2%45%2%8%5%15%2%17%6%
University of
North Florida
[45]
Nov 5–13, 2019426 (LV)36%2%3%4%10%8%10%6%23%
Nov 1, 2019O'Rourke withdraws from the race
Monmouth University[46] Oct 16–21, 2019402 (LV)± 4.9%33%2%3%6%1%12%4%16%7%15%
Change Research/
Post and Courier
[47]
Oct 15–21, 2019731 (LV)± 3.6%30%3%9%11%1%13%5%19%11%
Firehouse Strategies/
Øptimus[48]
Oct 8–10, 2019607 (LV)± 3.7%32%2%4%5%1%8%16%33%
YouGov/CBS News[49] Oct 3–11, 2019915 (RV)±3.9%43%3%4%7%1%16%2%18%6%
Gravis Marketing[50] Oct 3–7, 2019516 (LV)± 4.3%34%6%0%4%2%10%7%9%10%19%
Fox News[51] Sep 29 – Oct 2, 2019803 (LV)± 3.5%41%3%2%4%0%10%4%12%8%16%
Winthrop UniversitySep 21–30, 2019462 (RV)± 4.9%37%3%4%7%2%8%2%17%6%12%
CNN/SSRS[52] Sep 22–26, 2019406 (LV)± 5.9%37%2%4%3%2%11%3%16%4%10%
YouGov/CBS News[53] Aug 28 – Sep 4, 2019849 (RV)± 4.3%43%2%4%7%1%18%1%14%9%
Change Research[54] Aug 9–12, 2019521 (LV)± 4.3%36%4%5%12%1%16%1%17%7%
Firehouse Strategies/
Øptimus[55]
Jul 23–25, 2019554 (LV)± 3.8%31%2%4%10%0%9%12%8%24%
Monmouth University[56] Jul 18–22, 2019405 (LV)± 4.9%39%2%5%12%1%10%2%9%3%17%
YouGov/CBS News[57] Jul 9–18, 2019997 (RV)± 3.8%39%3%5%12%2%17%1%12%9%
Fox News[58] Jul 7–10, 2019701 (LV)± 3.5%35%3%2%12%0%14%0%5%3%20%
Jul 9, 2019Steyer announces his candidacy
Change Research[59] Jun 29 – Jul 4, 2019421 (LV)27%6%6%21%1%16%0%15%8%
Change Research[60] Jun 17–20, 2019308 (LV)39%5%11%9%5%13%0%15%5%
Change Research[61] Jun 11–14, 2019933 (LV)± 3.2%37%5%11%9%4%9%17%8%
YouGov/CBS News[62] May 31 – Jun 12, 2019552 (LV)45%4%6%7%4%18%8%8%
Zogby Analytics[63] May 23–29, 2019183 (LV)± 7.2%36%4%7%4%2%13%12%4%
Tel Opinion Research[64] May 22–24, 2019600 (LV)± 4.0%37%2%3%7%10%8%32%
Crantford Research[65] May 14–16, 2019381 (LV)± 5.0%42%4%8%10%7%8%
Change Research[66] May 6–9, 2019595 (LV)± 4.0%46%4%8%10%2%15%8%5%
Firehouse Strategies/
Øptimus[67]
Apr 30 – May 2, 2019568 (LV)± 4.5%48%4%5%4%1%12%5%1%20%
Apr 25, 2019Biden announces his candidacy
Apr 14, 2019Buttigieg announces his candidacy
Change Research[68] Mar 31 – Apr 4, 2019744 (LV)± 3.6%32%9%7%10%9%14%6%12%
12%12%15%16%24%11%12%
Mar 14, 2019O'Rourke announces his candidacy
Emerson College[69] Feb 28 – Mar 2, 2019291 (LV)± 5.7%37%6%0%9%5%21%5%16%
Change Research[70] Feb 15–18, 2019600 (LV)± 4.0%36%10%13%8%14%9%12%
28%1%35%20%18%
Feb 19, 2019Sanders announces his candidacy
Feb 9, 2019Warren announces her candidacy
Firehouse Strategies/
Øptimus[71]
Jan 31 – Feb 2, 2019557 (LV)± 4.0%36%5%12%2%8%4%2%31%
Head-to-head polling
Poll sourceDate(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin
Joe
Biden
Pete
Buttigieg
Bernie
Sanders
Elizabeth
Warren
OtherUndecided
YouGov/FairVotehttps://www.fairvote.org/south_carolina_democratic_primary_poll_2020#spread_of_sc_dem_frontrunner_rankingsNov 22 – Dec 2, 2019400 (LV)± 7.5%73%27%
66%34%
61%29%6%
39%61%
36%64%
54%46%
Tel Opinion ResearchMay 22–24, 2019600± 4.0%71%10%19%
70%15%16%
67%15%18%

Results

Official results show that Joe Biden won the Democratic primary with 48.65% of the vote, with Bernie Sanders coming in second with 19.77%.[72] [73] [74]

2020 South Carolina Democratic presidential primary! Candidate! Votes! %! Delegates[75]
262,33648.6539
106,60519.7715
61,14011.34rowspan="10"
44,2178.20
38,1207.07
16,9003.13
6,8131.26
(withdrawn)1,0690.20
(withdrawn)7650.14
(withdrawn)6580.12
(withdrawn)3520.07
(withdrawn)2880.05
Total539,263100%54

Results by county

Biden won every county.[76] [77]

CountyBiden%Sanders%Steyer%Buttigieg%Warren%Klobuchar%Gabbard%Others%Rejected ballotsTotal votesTurnout of registered electors in %
Abbeville1,12957.6928614.6131215.94804.09603.07422.15261.33221.1331,96012.54
Aiken6,76944.813,16920.981,98813.161,2468.251,0306.826074.021941.281020.673315,13813.00
Allendale55258.2911912.5724125.4590.95171.8020.2120.2150.53094716.37
Anderson5,56441.833,12423.491,80813.599887.439847.405243.942301.73800.611613,31811.05
Bamberg1,09958.7727714.8138720.70261.39432.30191.0240.21150.8161,87619.82
Barnwell1,06859.6327415.3030817.20321.79492.74261.45130.73211.1721,79313.08
Beaufort11,27545.833,74915.243,00912.233,06712.471,6996.911,3715.572901.181430.584324,64618.81
Berkeley10,57349.084,59821.342,0309.421,7938.321,4956.945272.453831.781430.663121,57316.23
Calhoun1,11859.8828815.4330216.18472.52422.25341.82251.34110.5851,87217.69
Charleston28,29244.3012,24519.174,7347.418,07812.656,93210.852,3023.601,0131.592680.428463,94821.78
Cherokee1,81257.1467421.2234710.941043.281063.34662.08381.20250.7923,1739.60
Chester2,03363.7763319.862236.991023.20882.76581.82230.72280.8963,19415.56
Chesterfield1,82564.0653718.852257.90903.16762.67441.54260.91260.9232,85210.93
Clarendon2,69468.5048712.3843411.03972.47832.11621.58360.92401.03153,94817.14
Colleton2,31857.7667916.92641.59731.821744.3452613.111744.34260.6354,01816.00
Darlington4,23161.111,10515.9691113.162874.152083.00861.24550.79410.59166,94016.03
Dillon1,48564.0936215.6231913.77391.68391.68381.6480.35271.1792,32612.47
Dorchester7,65747.553,49421.701,5099.371,4579.051,1897.384032.503161.96770.482116,12315.24
Edgefield1,32755.8741917.6437015.58773.24893.75441.85200.84291.2172,38213.84
Fairfield2,35261.0942811.1277320.08842.18882.29471.22501.30280.73103,86024.63
Florence8,67658.822,63517.861,87712.735693.866074.122211.50830.56820.572914,77916.76
Georgetown4,77652.461,57417.621,01811.396977.803764.213273.661141.28520.59168,95020.19
Greenville20,66138.1713,37624.715,77410.675,68810.515,2079.622,3524.358301.532350.435754,18016.45
Greenwood2,69347.881,06018.851,09119.402784.942414.291652.93571.01390.7075,63113.75
Hampton1,11653.0931915.1854125.74331.57401.90180.86120.57231.10102,11216.46
Horry13,28143.826,75722.293,84112.672,8779.491,7245.691,2694.193871.281750.585930,37013.02
Jasper1,79452.7554315.9757316.851895.561223.591103.23421.23280.8353,40616.72
Kershaw3,57755.291,08316.7489613.853615.583084.761442.23671.04340.54136,48315.37
Lancaster4,34051.481,69520.113654.3385810.185676.734225.011121.33710.84158,44513.43
Laurens2,41349.761,00120.6474815.432044.212445.031202.47731.51460.95104,85912.19
Lee1,87668.8733212.1936413.36491.80531.95110.40180.66210.7672,73123.50
Lexington9,72039.875,75823.622,82711.602,57310.552,0948.597953.265022.061110.461524,39513.00
Marion2,73566.8762515.2850812.42601.47781.91380.93130.32330.81134,10319.52
Marlboro1,48561.4430912.7848720.15291.20351.45341.41130.54251.0492,42613.59
McCormick73048.1820813.7338125.15684.49422.77543.56161.06161.0641,51920.62
Newberry1,78755.4148214.9546014.262056.361243.84832.57571.77270.8443,22913.66
Oconee2,18137.601,39224.0074212.795609.664056.984036.95811.40360.6155,80511.07
Orangeburg9,08969.861,38810.671,69012.992381.833702.84720.55710.55920.702013,03022.91
Pickens2,51332.622,14127.7990111.707619.8882310.683754.871632.12270.3547,70810.45
Richland35,86953.1511,34716.818,26912.254,4916.655,3927.991,2851.905280.783090.456567,55525.71
Saluda78254.0126218.0924316.78543.73513.52271.86151.04140.9731,45112.52
Spartanburg9,97742.315,87024.892,91112.341,8497.841,8167.707493.182781.181310.563123,61312.45
Sumter8,37565.411,67313.071,66713.024063.173863.011220.95740.581010.802312,82718.34
Union1,29557.2243019.0032214.23582.56733.23341.50190.84321.4222,26513.72
Williamsburg3,68270.0870813.4860511.52470.89941.79190.36450.86541.04165,27024.34
York11,55643.606,55124.721,2424.693,11011.732,3078.701,2414.683381.281590.603526,53914.44
Statewide total262,33648.65106,60519.7761,1401.3444,2178.2038,1207.0716,9003.136,8131.26121322.25794540,05716.38

Aftermath

Joe Biden's overwhelming victory, his first-ever primary win in his three presidential runs,[78] [79] gave his campaign new momentum going into Super Tuesday after lackluster performances in Iowa and New Hampshire and a distant second-place finish in Nevada.[80] The Biden campaign claimed that the outcome proved he had the most diverse coalition of any Democratic candidate, as Iowa's and New Hampshire's Democratic electorates are over 90% white, while South Carolina's Democratic electorate is nearly 60% black.[81] Biden's success in the primary helped him overtake the lead in the then-popular vote from front-runner Bernie Sanders, who came in second.[80]

Despite Pete Buttigieg's initial claims that he would stay in the race following the primary, he suspended his presidential campaign the next day. In his concession speech, Buttigieg claimed he would have a negative effect on the race if he stayed in, which many took as Buttigieg not wanting to split the moderate vote in order to assist Biden.[82] However, while Buttigieg called Biden before making his announcement, he did not immediately endorse him. One day later, on the day before Super Tuesday, Buttigieg publicly endorsed Biden while speaking at Biden's rally in Dallas, Texas.[83]

Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar both had lackluster performances in South Carolina.[84] However, both candidates stated that they expected the outcome and still had a strong chance of doing well on Super Tuesday.[85] Nonetheless, on March 2, two days after the primary and the day before Super Tuesday, Klobuchar dropped out of the race and endorsed Biden.[86]

Billionaire Tom Steyer, whose campaign was reliant on getting the black vote, dropped out after a lackluster performance in the state. Steyer's campaign had concentrated its advertising efforts on South Carolina, spending more money on television commercials in the state than all the other Democratic candidates combined. Steyer stated in his concession speech that he did not see a path to winning the presidency based on the results.[1]

On February 28, 2020, former Governor of Virginia Terry McAuliffe stated that he would consider endorsing Biden if he performed well in the South Carolina primary.[87] Shortly after it was announced that Biden would win the South Carolina primary, McAuliffe announced his endorsement on CNN.[88] In the following days, Biden received a slew of endorsements, including Virginia Congressman Robert C. Scott, U.S. senator from Illinois Tammy Duckworth (who held the Senate seat once occupied by Barack Obama), former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and former 2020 candidates Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Beto O'Rourke, and Virginia Senator and former 2016 vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine.[89] [90] [91]

Analysis

Participation in the 2020 South Carolina presidential primary was significantly higher than it was in the 2016 presidential primary. Official election results indicate that 539,263 votes were cast.[72] This total represented a marked increase over 2016's 370,904 votes[92] and even a slightly higher amount than 2008's 532,468 votes.[93]

Biden's win was deemed a major victory, as he won all 46 counties in the state. The win was largely attributed to his support from 61% of African-American voters (African-American voters make up approximately 60% of the Democratic electorate in South Carolina).[94] Before the primary on February 26, House Majority Whip and longtime U.S. Representative Jim Clyburn endorsed Biden.[95] Many cited Clyburn's endorsement as a reason for Biden's wide margin of victory, as Clyburn's endorsement was a deciding factor for many African American voters in South Carolina. Thirty-six percent of all primary voters said that they made their decision after Clyburn's endorsement; of that total, 70% voted for Biden.[96] According to FiveThirtyEight, the outcome significantly boosted Biden's chance of winning multiple Super Tuesday states (especially southern states like North Carolina, Texas, and Virginia).

Sanders came in second place in the primary. He received an estimated 14% of the African-American vote, down from 16% in 2016. Sanders did however win the Black youth vote.[97] Even in the Upstate region of the state, which was seen as friendly towards Sanders,[98] Biden won every county, although his margin of victory was smaller in that region than it was in other parts of South Carolina.[99]

Following the South Carolina primary, pollsters and analysts claimed that Buttigieg, Warren, and Klobuchar were losing momentum at a critical time in the race.[84] Exit polls showed that Buttigieg, who won Iowa and did well in New Hampshire, received only 2% of the black vote despite receiving endorsements from many prominent African Americans.[85] Klobuchar and Warren received little support in South Carolina, possibly because of black voters' lack of familiarity with them.[100]

Following their poor performances, Pete Buttigieg,[101] Amy Klobuchar,[102] and Tom Steyer[1] ended their presidential campaigns before Super Tuesday. This meant that moderate voters coalesced instead of splitting their votes between multiple candidates, giving Joe Biden multiple comeback wins on Super Tuesday.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Tom Steyer drops out of the 2020 presidential race. Grace Panetta. February 29, 2020. Business Insider. February 29, 2020.
  2. Web site: Buttigieg exits presidential race ahead of Super Tuesday, cementing collapse following strong Iowa showing. Re. Gregg. 2020-03-01. Fox News. en-US. 2020-03-01. mdy-all.
  3. Web site: Amy Klobuchar Drops Out of Presidential Race and Plans to Endorse Biden . Corasaniti. Nick. Burns. Alexander. 2020-03-02. The New York Times. en-US. 2020-03-02. mdy-all.
  4. Web site: 2016 vs. 2020: How Biden overturned Sanders' turf. Beatrice Jin. April 15, 2020. Politico. April 23, 2020.
  5. Web site: South Carolina Democratic Delegation 2020. The Green Papers. March 31, 2019. April 12, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190411213246/http://www.thegreenpapers.com/P20/SC-D. April 11, 2019. live.
  6. Web site: Can Voters Detect Malicious Manipulation of Ballot Marking Devices? . Bernhard . Matthew, Allison McDonald, Henry Meng, Jensen Hwa, Nakul Bajaj, Kevin Chang, J. Alex Halderman . 2019-12-28 . Halderman . 2020-02-28 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200109145330/https://jhalderm.com/pub/papers/bmd-verifiability-sp20.pdf . January 9, 2020 . live .
  7. News: Geller . Eric . Doublecheck that ballot: Controversial voting machines make their primary debut in South Carolina . 2020-02-29 . en . https://web.archive.org/web/20200301000606/https://www.politico.com/news/2020/02/28/south-carolina-voting-machines-118046 . March 1, 2020 . live .
  8. Web site: State Audit Laws, South Carolina . en-US . 2020-02-29 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200104201852/https://www.verifiedvoting.org/state-audit-laws/ . January 4, 2020 . live .
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  10. Web site: Absentee Voting . SC Votes . February 16, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200214000445/https://www.scvotes.org/absentee-voting . February 14, 2020 . live .
  11. News: South Carolina primary live updates: Democrats vote for 2020 candidates. Stahl. Chelsea. NBC News. February 29, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200229222114/https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/live-blog/south-carolina-primary-live-updates-democrats-vote-2020-candidates-n1145296. February 29, 2020. live.
  12. Web site: South Carolina Democratic Delegation 2020. The Green Papers. March 31, 2019. April 12, 2019.
  13. Web site: Let's Elect More SC Democrats. South Carolina Democratic Party. April 12, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190401213225/http://scdp.org/. April 1, 2019. live.
  14. Web site: 2/29/2020 Presidential Preference Primary—Candidate. South Carolina Election Commission. December 16, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20200215191059/https://info.scvotes.sc.gov/Eng/Candidate/CandidateSearch.aspx?ElectionId=21056&QSHelperHash=691AFF3DECF6587BB2BFF18E8ACB900CFF148928. February 15, 2020. live.
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  32. https://www.winthrop.edu/winthroppoll/current-findings.aspx Winthrop University
  33. https://www.uml.edu/docs/2020-SC-Primary-topline_tcm18-322374.pdf University of Massachusetts Lowell
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  36. https://zogbyanalytics.com/news/913-the-zogby-poll-february-2020-presidential-election-report Zogby Analytics
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  41. https://www.postandcourier.com/politics/biden-s-sc-firewall-in-danger-front-runner-s-lead/article_517d465e-1c89-11ea-bce4-3b0ae19c6231.html Change Research/
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  43. https://poll.qu.edu/south-carolina/release-detail?ReleaseID=3649 Quinnipiac University
  44. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pete-buttigieg-rises-in-iowa-new-hampshire-biden-back-atop-delegate-hunt-cbs-news-poll/ YouGov/CBS News
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  47. https://www.postandcourier.com/politics/warren-cutting-into-biden-s-lead-in-new-sc-democratic/article_3738ef56-f69f-11e9-97d4-9ff73bd65e23.html Change Research/
    Post and Courier
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  52. http://cdn.cnn.com/cnn/2019/images/09/28/rel1_sc.pdf CNN/SSRS
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  73. Web site: Biden wins South Carolina, hopes for Super Tuesday momentum . Peoples . Steve . Kinnard . Meg . Barrow . Bill . February 29, 2020 . Associated Press . February 29, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200229231101/https://apnews.com/b9872b58b495fd17044f359338ab3f2a . February 29, 2020 . live .
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  76. Web site: 2020-03-01. Joe Biden wins the South Carolina presidential primary. 2021-02-21. Los Angeles Times. en-US.
  77. Web site: Election Night Reporting. 2021-02-21. www.enr-scvotes.org.
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  79. News: Rep. Jim Clyburn's endorsement gave Biden some serious momentum in South Carolina. Aleem. Zeeshan. Vox. March 1, 2020. This is the first primary of the 2020 season Biden has won — and the first primary in three presidential runs that he's ever won [...].. March 1, 2019.
  80. Web site: Biden is leading the popular vote to date. Veronica. Rocha. Mike. Hayes. March 1, 2020. CNN. March 1, 2020.
  81. Web site: Joe Biden Takes A Swipe At Bernie Sanders In South Carolina Victory Speech . Golshan. Tara. March 1, 2020. HuffPost. March 1, 2020.
  82. Web site: Buttigieg exits presidential race ahead of Super Tuesday, cementing collapse following strong Iowa showing. Re. Gregg. March 1, 2020. Fox News. March 1, 2020.
  83. Web site: Pete Buttigieg endorses Joe Biden for president. NBC News. March 3, 2020 . en. 2020-03-05.
  84. News: Election Update: South Carolina — And A Bunch Of New Polls — Are Showing A Close Super Tuesday Race. Silver. Nate. FiveThirtyEight. March 1, 2020.
  85. News: Buttigieg wins just 2 percent of black voters in South Carolina, exit polls show. Kapur. Sahil. NBC News. March 1, 2020.
  86. Web site: Klobuchar to drop out of 2020 campaign, endorse Biden. Elena. Schneider. March 2, 2020. POLITICO.
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  91. Web site: Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar and Beto O'Rourke endorse Joe Biden. Mehta. Seema. 2020-03-03. Los Angeles Times. en-US. 2020-03-05.
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  94. Web site: South Carolina exit polls: Black and moderate voters fuel Biden to victory. NBC. March 1, 2019.
  95. Web site: Clyburn poised to endorse Biden in big boost before S.C. primary. POLITICO. February 23, 2020 . en. 2020-03-01.
  96. Web site: 4 Takeaways From Joe Biden's Big Win In South Carolina. NPR.org. en. 2020-03-01.
  97. Web site: Exclusive Analysis: In South Carolina, young people support Sanders by smaller margin . now.tufts.edu . Tufts Now . 9 March 2024.
  98. Web site: The Upstate didn't like Joe Biden as much as the rest of South Carolina did. Anna B. Mitchell, Scott Keepfe. March 1, 2020. The Greenville News. March 1, 2020.
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  102. Web site: Klobuchar to drop out, endorse Biden. Nam. Rafael. 2020-03-02. TheHill. en. 2020-03-02.