Surprisingly, Joe Biden won the first Democratic primary for the American presidential election, winning on Saturday February 3 in South Carolina, according to American television estimates.
After more than half of the votes were counted, the 81-year-old US president, who was aiming for a second term in the White House, won more than 96.4% of the vote against little-known elected official Dean Phillips of Minnesota. , heir to a wealthy ice cream company, and Marianne Williamson, author of best-selling personal development books.
Joe Biden, in California on Saturday evening before heading to Nevada for the next vote on Tuesday, immediately predicted that he would beat his likely Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump, in November. “In 2024, the people of South Carolina have spoken again and I have no doubt that you have put us on a path to win the presidency again and defeat Donald Trump again.”He said in a press release.
“The stakes in this election could not be higher. Extreme and dangerous voices are working in the country under the leadership of Donald Trump »he said.
During this first official vote in his race for the Democratic nomination – the January 23 primary held in New Hampshire was not recognized by the Democratic National Committee – it was above all participation rates, especially among African-American voters, to check. In 2020, African-Americans in South Carolina, outnumbered in proportion to the population of this former slave state in the Southeast, allowed Joe Biden to salvage his campaign during the primary, helping open his path to the White House.
State in hands of Republicans
On Saturday, the president attended his campaign headquarters in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, making sure he “On a Mission”before leaving to campaign in California and Nevada. “It’s not just a campaign. It’s more of a mission. For the good of this country, we must not lose (…) And I say this from the bottom of my heart. It’s not about me, it’s beyond me.”he insisted.
If black voters in the United States traditionally lean Democratic, some recent polls show that their support for Joe Biden is collapsing, especially among young people, who believe he was not heard enough during his mandate.
Although South Carolina is expected to remain Republican in November’s presidential election, as it has been since 1980, the president has made it clear that he sees the state as an important test. He has been there twice since the beginning of the year. “I think the stakes are higher than ever, you know, people are talking about an attack on our democracy.”said Samuel Bias, 31, a supporter of Mr. Biden, after a public meeting with Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday.
“President Biden Like me, we believe in you (…) To vote, text, knock on doors and make your voice heard, encouraging everyone you know to vote”On Friday Mme Harris, during a fiery speech in Orangeburg.
A vicious attack on Donald Trump
like thisme Harris, the first black woman vice president in the history of America, also attacked Donald Trump. “For years, the former president fanned the flames of hatred, bigotry, racism and xenophobia for his power and personal political gain”she said.
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Mr. Biden is thus focusing his strategy on the threat to democracy that, according to him, American billionaires pose. “On the one hand, foreign leaders tell me one after another: ‘You must win'”The president said Saturday in Wilmington.
According to a survey New York Times/As reported in November, 71% of black voters in six key states support Mr. Biden — compared with 91% in the 2020 election — and 22% would vote for Mr. Trump.
“I was a Democrat for twenty years. I also participated in the Obama campaign »said Regina Siddique, 56, a black caregiver who attended a news conference of supporters of the former president in Columbia, the state capital, this week. “But today, after seeing what this world will become, I prefer Trump”she assured.
In South Carolina, the Republican primary in late February promises to be more spectacular than the Democrats’ as Mr. Trump tries to deliver a fatal blow to the state’s former governor, Nikki Haley.
