Super Tuesday: South Carolina to show if Biden can keep dream alive

One US state is such a must-win for Joe Biden that his focus is devoting his last precious hours of campaigning to tiny audiences.

Supporters are reflected in the sunglasses of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden as he speaks at St. James Santee Family Health Center during a town hall meeting in McClellanville, South Carolina. Picture: Jim Watson/AFP

While his rivals jetted around the country to pitch to Super Tuesday voters in much bigger states, Joe Biden strode out to an audience of 30 locals patiently waiting on chairs set out in a health centre car park in rural South Carolina.

After spending a while chatting with staff at the St James-Santee Family Health Center serving this tiny community 40 miles up the coast from Charleston, the former vice-president delivered a ten-minute speech focused on improving healthcare.

It was more like a pitch to run for the local medical board than the closing stages of a state primary to choose a presidential candidate but South Carolina has become such a must-win for Mr Biden, 77, that he is devoting his last precious hours of campaigning to tiny audiences around the state.

The media, which outnumbered the car park crowd, will carry the message further but there is a suspicion that the Biden campaign’s decision to place all its eggs in the South Carolina basket could backfire and may not provide the momentum he needs before 14 states vote on Tuesday.

The state, the first to vote in the south, has been described by Mr Biden as his firewall because of his strong support from its black voters, who make up more than 60 per cent of the Democratic electorate. He needs the victory after fourth, fifth and second-place finishes in the first three states to vote.

Bernie Sanders, 78, who won the popular vote in all three, was campaigning on Tuesday in Richmond, Virginia, while Elizabeth Warren, 70, was in San Antonio, Texas. Strapped for funds and desperate to prove that he can hold off the challenge of Mr Sanders, Mr Biden focused his attacks on his left-wing rival — who draws far larger crowds wherever he goes with promises including scrapping all private health insurance in favour of universal taxpayer-funded provision.

Joe Biden speaks at St James Santee Family Health Center, continuing his focus on South Carolina. Picture: Jim Watson/AFP

Pledging to expand the healthcare program known as Obamacare that he helped push through as vice-president, Mr Biden said: “The most important thing is, I can actually get it passed and people aren’t going to have to wait for five, six, seven, ten years for something that is not likely to pass at all.”

He added: “You know, Senator Sanders’s Medicare for All will be a long, long expensive slog, cost over dollars 35 trillion, and the patients can’t afford to wait for what he calls and what others call – I believe they are totally sincere – a revolution. People when they’re sick want peace of mind and to know they are going to be taken care of.”

Black voters place healthcare high on their list of priorities after justice, including gun control. Polling suggests that older black voters will remain loyal to Mr Biden but younger voters are increasingly tempted by Mr Sanders.

Defeat for Mr Biden in South Carolina would be a mortal blow to his chances. His message seems to be getting through. The Rev Arthur Pinckney, 76, a pastor at a black church, said that he would vote for Mr Biden because of his experience and moderate credentials.

Mr Pinckney said: “President Obama picked him as vice-president because of his experience. Elizabeth Warren came to our church but she does not say anything about building on Obamacare and Bernie Sanders is also impressive but he wants to tear things down.”

The Times