Biden Begins Reelection Campaign Relying on Support from South Carolina’s Black Voters in Primary

The Democrats’ first primary of the 2024 presidential contest contains little mystery. South Carolina propelled President Joe Biden to the Democratic nomination four years ago and he faces only token opposition when voting concludes Saturday.

What’s at stake for Biden is the depth of support he receives from Black voters. They made up half the party’s primary electorate in the state in 2020 and gave him a resounding victory, a win he rewarded by moving South Carolina to the front of the party’s nominating process. In the general election, Biden was backed by 91% of Black voters nationwide, according to AP VoteCast.

Whether he enjoys a similar level of support this year has implications far beyond South Carolina.

Biden’s support among Black voters has waned considerably since he assembled his winning coalition four years ago. His approval rating among Black adults is 42% in the latest Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll, a substantial drop from the first year of his presidency.

That’s a potentially troubling sign as he prepares for a rematch against former President Donald Trump, the overwhelming favorite to win the Republican nomination. Lackluster turnout among Black voters in South Carolina’s primary could signal a broader dip in enthusiasm. Biden will need to energize Black voters in the key swing states of Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.

His campaign is not taking the state for granted. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have been visiting in the lead-up to the primary and have promised to keep advocating for the interests of the Black community.

Interviews with a wide array of Democrat-leaning Black voters in South Carolina ahead of Saturday’s primary revealed general support for the president, from early voting centers in Columbia, the state capital, to a historically Black college in Orangeburg to a voter-mobilization event in Charleston. But they also provided warning signs: Voters want Biden to spell out his priorities for a second term while expressing concerns about his age and how he is handling inflation and the economy.

Younger Black voters said they want Biden to represent their concerns and to see them prioritized if he wins a second term.

Alexandrea B. Moore, a 22-year-old senior at South Carolina State University, said Biden could have been more transparent about the challenges he faced in fulfilling his promise of widespread student loan forgiveness, a plan that ultimately was struck down by the Supreme Court.

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“At the end of the day, whether you are excited or have no excitement, what I’m still hearing is based on what’s present,” he said. “The candidate that the majority of African Americans are going to vote for is still President Joseph Biden.”