Joe Biden has defiantly vowed to make Donald Trump a “loser again” after claiming victory in South Carolina’s Democratic Party primary race.
Biden, 81, looks set to win his second successive primary race after receiving 96.2 per cent of the vote in the Palmetto State.
Democratic challengers Marianne Williamson and Dean Phillips have the remainder of the votes.
The result ensures Biden marches on all 55 state delegates ahead of the party convention in August.
The 46th President Joe Biden won the Democratic Party's South Carolina primary race
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However, there was a marked drop in votes cast compared to 2020, with around 132,000 South Carolinians taking part as opposed to more than 500,000 in 2020.
The last time an incumbent Democrat Commander-in-Chief sought re-election, Barack Obama’s 2012 campaign, there was no primary contest in South Carolina as the 44th President was unopposed.
In a statement released after his victory, Biden said: “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.”
He added: “As I said four years ago, this campaign is for everyone who has been knocked down, counted out and left behind.
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Ex-President Donald Trump is hoping to storm to victory in South Carolina later this month
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“That is still true today. With more than 14 million new jobs and a record 24 straight months – two years – of the unemployment rate under 4 per cent, including a record low unemployment rate for Black Americans, we are leaving no one behind.”
Biden was not in the Palmetto State to celebrate his victory but was instead at a campaign event in California.
Donald Trump, who is storming ahead in his third successive Republican Party primary race, will hope to win over voters in South Carolina on February 24.
The 45th President’s trial on federal charges was postponed this weekend.
Joe Biden holds a campaign rally ahead of the state's Democratic presidential primary, in Las Vegas
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The case, investigating claims Trump sought to overturn the 2020 results, was scheduled to take place in Washington on March 4.
Trump also returned to the headlines by confirming a second administration would impose more tariffs on China and by name-dropping two potential running-mates.
The 77-year-old, who included ex-Indiana Representative Mike Pence on his 2016 and 2020 tickets, is mulling over inviting South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem or South Carolina Senator Tim Scott to join his top team.
Trump will hope to propel himself to his third successive Grand Old Party primary victory in South Carolina as ex-UN Ambassador Nikki Haley braces for humiliation on home soil.
Donald Trump holds a campaign rally ahead of the Republican caucus in Las Vegas
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The ex-president did not directly respond to Biden’s victory on his social media platform Truth Social.
However, Trump looked to politicise the cases brought against him.
Despite Biden’s optimism, Trump opened up a five-point lead over Biden in the latest NBC News opinion poll.
Trump, who beat Biden in South Carolina by almost 300,000 votes in 2020, would likely flip all the major swing states lost if he retained such a lead by November 5.
Such a situation would likely prove enough for Trump to become just the second Commander-in-Chief to serve two non-consecutive terms in the Oval Office.
