Unsurprisingly, Joe Biden won the first Democratic primary for the American presidential election hands down, winning on Saturday, February 3, in South Carolina, according to American television projections.
The 81-year-old American president, who is aiming for a second term in the White House, notably beat by a very large majority a little-known Minnesota elected official, Dean Phillips, heir to a wealthy ice cream company, and Marianne Williamson, author best-sellers on personal development.
Joe Biden, who was himself in California on Saturday evening before going to Nevada (west) for the next vote on Tuesday, immediately estimated that he would beat his probable 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 the path to winning the presidency again and losing Donald again Trump,” he said in a statement.
During this first official vote in his race for the Democratic nomination, which Mr. Biden is almost assured of winning ? the primary organized on January 23 in New Hampshire was not recognized by the Democratic National Committee ?, it is especially the participation rate, particularly in the African-American electorate, which had to be scrutinized. In 2020, African-Americans in South Carolina, numerous in proportion to the population of this former slave state in the southeast, allowed Joe Biden to save his campaign during the primary, helping him open up a way to the White House.
A state in the hands of the Republicans
On Saturday the president made an appearance at his campaign headquarters in Wilmington, in his state of Delaware, assuring that he was “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 it from the bottom of my heart. It’s not about me, it goes way beyond me,” he insisted.
If the black electorate in the United States traditionally leans Democratic, several recent polls show that their support for Joe Biden is crumbling, particularly among young people, who believe they were not heard enough during his mandate.
Even though South Carolina is expected to remain in Republican hands in the November presidential election, as it has been since 1980, the president has made it clear that he views the state as an important test. He has already been there twice since the start of the year. “I think the stakes are higher than they’ve ever been, you know, people are talking about our democracy being under attack,” said Samuel Bias, 31, a Mr. Biden supporter, after a public meeting Friday with Vice President Kamala Harris.
“President Biden like myself, we are counting on you (…) to vote and encourage everyone you know to vote, to send SMS, to knock on doors and to make your voice heard”, insisted Friday Ms. Harris, during a fiery speech in Orangeburg.
Virulent attack on Donald Trump
Ms. Harris, the first black woman vice-president in the history of the United States, also launched a virulent attack on Donald Trump. “For years, the former president stoked the fires of hatred, bigotry, racism and xenophobia for his own power and personal political gain,” she said.
Mr. Biden thus focuses his strategy on the threat to democracy that, according to him, the American billionaire constitutes. “As an aside, foreign leaders tell me one after the other: ‘You must win,’” the president slipped in Wilmington on Saturday.
According to a New York Times/Siena poll conducted in November, 71% of black voters in six key states support Mr. Biden ? up from 91% in the 2020 election ? and 22% would vote for Mr. Trump.
“I was a Democrat for twenty years. I even participated in the Obama campaign,” said Regina Sidik, 56, a black health care aide who attended a news conference of the former president’s supporters in Columbia, the state capital. , this week. “But today, after seeing what this world will become, I opt for Trump,” she confided.
In South Carolina, the Republican primary at the end of February promises to be more spectacular than that of the Democrats because Mr. Trump will try to deal a fatal blow to the former governor of this state, Nikki Haley.