Joe Biden’s allies launch effort to woo centrist voters
Former vice-president Joe Biden has claimed the biggest pre-primary prize in South Carolina: the endorsement of James Clyburn.
Former US vice-president Joe Biden and his allies are trying to consolidate centrist voters behind his candidacy in the final days before Sunday’s South Carolina primary, with a key leader in that state endorsing him and a super political action committee backing his bid making a major push for large donations.
Mr Biden is running out of time to turn the presidential race into a one-on-one battle with Bernie Sanders, the Democratic frontrunner who ranks a close second in recent polls in this state.
Mr Biden notched the biggest pre-primary prize in South Carolina on Thursday, winning the endorsement of James Clyburn, the top-ranking black member in congress and the most influential Democrat in the state.
Mr Clyburn invoked his late wife, Emily, who died in September, and his constituents during an emotional announcement in which he said he wanted the public to know who he would back for president. “I know Joe. We know Joe. But most importantly, Joe knows us,” he said.
The endorsement comes as the pro-Biden super PAC Unite the Country has been pressing donors to help it defend Mr Biden in South Carolina and in the coming 14-state delegate sweepstakes known as Super Tuesday.
The super PAC’s organisers said in a memo to donors on Monday that “the challenge we face is obvious: Senator Sanders has a solid, though not nearly majority, base among Democratic primary voters, and the rest of the Democratic vote is split 4-5-6 ways”.
Mr Biden is competing in a crowded lane of centre-left rivals alongside former South Bend, Indiana, mayor Pete Buttigieg and Minnesota senator Amy Klobuchar, splintering votes among multiple candidates as Senator Sanders rises. The Vermont senator won the Nevada primary last Sunday, secured a narrow win in New Hampshire and essentially tied for first in Iowa earlier this month.
Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren, who once challenged Senator Sanders for the hearts of liberals, has used two strong debate performances to present as the candidate who can unite the party but is lagging in delegates. And in South Carolina, billionaire activist Tom Steyer has spent more than $US21m in advertising, threatening to siphon votes from Mr Biden among African-Americans.
As Senator Sanders aims for victories in coming delegate-rich states such as California and Texas, the dynamics in the race among the group of moderates creates little incentive for any candidate to leave the race unless they run out of money.
Mr Buttigieg, who narrowly won Iowa and finished second in New Hampshire, is trailing Senator Sanders in the hunt for delegates. And both senators Klobuchar and Warren have home-state contests on March 3, giving them a potential opportunity to capture delegates.
Mr Biden, who once led national polls, hopes to use South Carolina as a launchpad for the March states, including many in the South with large African-American communities.
No one wants to cede ground to billionaire Michael Bloomberg, who is pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into states holding primaries in March and will be on the ballot for the first time in a matter of days.
That means Senator Sanders, as the leading liberal in the race, could pile up delegates on Super Tuesday and build a potentially insurmountable lead against a fractured field.
“That’s the dilemma,” said Matt Bennett, a co-founder of centrist think tank Third Way.
“I don’t think anyone has a solution to that problem. Everyone stipulates it would be better if we could get down to one sooner and no one has the faintest idea how that could possibly happen … No one is going to push any of them out of the race at this point.”
The pro-Biden super PAC has noted in its pitch to donors that several states holding primaries on March 3 have large African-American populations that could help the former vice-president, including Alabama, Arkansas, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.
“It boils down to this: the month of March will decide whether Democrats will nominate Senator Sanders or someone else,” organisers said in the memo. “The only other viable option at this point is Joe Biden. But the time to act is now.”
The Wall Street Journal
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