Joe Biden faces new battle as he wins first Democractic primary
US President Joe Biden has won the first Democratic presidential primary but party officials are wary of a new threat to his bid to stay in the White House.
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US President Joe Biden has cruised to victory in the South Carolina Democratic primary, saying he would make Republican rival Donald Trump a “loser” in November’s election.
Incumbent Mr Biden, 81, kicked off his march to his party’s nomination with an overwhelming victory over two far-trailing rivals, according to projections by US media.
But Democrats will be poring over the results of the primary to see if Mr Biden, battling low approval ratings, won the support of Black voters who helped propel him to the White House four years ago.
“Now in 2024, the people of South Carolina have spoken again and I have no doubt that you have set us on the path to winning the presidency again — and making Donald Trump a loser — again,” Mr Biden said in a statement.
The southern US state launched Mr Biden’s road to the White House in 2020, when he turned his campaign around after a series of stumbles in earlier primaries.
Mr Biden had only two longshot challengers in the primary: Minnesota congressman and gelato magnate Dean Phillips, and best-selling self-help author Marianne Williamson.
There were concerns about turnout, with only a trickle of voters at polling stations in the historic city of Charleston as many people apparently viewed his victory as a foregone conclusion.
Mr Biden himself urged voters to get to the polls in a video on X, formerly Twitter, saying: “South Carolina, go vote today!”
Despite South Carolina being likely to remain in Republican hands in November, as it has done since 1980, Mr Biden regards it as a proving ground for his support among Black voters.
Several voters said Mr Biden’s record as president was mostly satisfactory, while admitting there was a lack of enthusiasm for his second-term bid — but that they did not want to see Mr Trump win.
“I am feeling good about where we are. I really am,” Mr Biden said during a visit to his campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, alongside Vice President Kamala Harris.
A number of recent polls have however shown support for Mr Biden slipping among Black voters, especially youth, amid frustration that he has not addressed their priorities despite them backing him four years ago.
But other polls have showed him edging ahead of Mr Trump or neck-and-neck, even if his
The Republican primary on February 24 promises to be more dramatic than the Democratic, with Mr Trump trying to deal a knockout blow to former South Carolina governor and UN ambassador Nikki Haley on her home turf.
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Originally published as Joe Biden faces new battle as he wins first Democractic primary
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