The Vice President is on the board. In the first primary in the South, Joe Biden wins South Carolina. Biden has long considered the state to be his firewall. He hopes it will propel him to success on Super Tuesday when 14 states are up for grabs.
As of 7:00 PM CT, Biden was winning 53% of the vote with 14% reporting. Bernie Sanders was trailing in a distant second. No other candidate is currently garnering 15% of the vote needed to obtain delegates. Biden stands to net a huge haul of delegates if these numbers hold out.
Biden leaned on his strong support from the African American community to get the win. The former VP was the long time frontrunner in the primary before being surpassed by Bernie Sanders in the last couple of months. He still faces an uphill battle as Sanders leads in several Super Tuesday states, notably California and Texas.
Super Tuesday is just days away on March 3rd.
South Carolina could mark the beginning of the end for some candidates. Tom Steyer bet big on the state and came up well short. Elizabeth Warren and Pete Buttigieg also had poor showings. As many have long expected, the race is beginning to wind down to Sanders vs Biden. Expect the dropouts to begin in earnest after Super Tuesday.
While the victory is huge for Biden, it is not particularly damaging for Sanders. He still has several wins under his belt and is currently leading in several big states coming up. At this point, he remains the frontrunner. His opposition may be solidifying though, so the race may get more difficult.