(CNN) — Former Vice President Joe Biden Saturday surged to a strong victory in the South Carolina primary, CNN projects, revitalizing a stalled presidential bid and establishing himself as the main moderate rival to Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in the race for the Democratic nomination.
The 77-year-old Biden notched his first-ever nominating contest win, more than three decades after he launched the first of his three campaigns for the White House. The question now is whether Biden can use South Carolina as a launchpad, two days ahead of this week’s Super Tuesday contests in 15 states and territories in which Sanders is hoping to build up an unassailable lead in the delegate count.
Former South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg came in fourth in South Carolina, with 7.8 percent.
After anemic performances in the first three nominating clashes in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada, Biden bet everything on the Palmetto State and its diverse, more moderate electorate.
Biden is likely to walk away with the lion’s share of 54 pledged delegates on offer on Saturday — which represent more than half of the 101 delegates previously doled out in the contest.
Going into Saturday, Sanders led the delegate count, with Buttigieg, Biden, Warren and Klobuchar following. Biden’s win quickly shot him into second place after just a portion of South Carolina’s delegates were projected.
A total of 1,991 pledged delegates are needed to win the nomination at the first convention ballot.
He can now make the case that he is the only candidate who can inspire one of the most critical slices of the Democratic electorate — African American voters. And the win raises new questions about Sanders’ claim to have broadened his demographic appeal following his failed 2016 campaign.
Minority voters — especially in cities like Cleveland, Philadelphia, Charlotte, Atlanta and Detroit — are critical to Democratic hopes of winning back swing states that Trump claimed in 2016 and putting new battlegrounds on the map.
Exit polls suggest that the South Carolina electorate was far more moderate and African American than the states in which Sanders has prospered. The former vice president’s securing of last-minute endorsement of the state’s political icon Rep. James Clyburn last week also appears to have been crucial.
Biden’s win was built on a base rooted in black voters, those over the age of 65 and moderates, according to preliminary results.
Biden won around 3 in 5 black voters, dominating over Sanders, his closest competitor who got almost 1 in 5 of the group.
Businessman Tom Steyer came close to Sanders, with around 1 in 7 black voters.
Almost 3 in 5 voters over the age of 65 supported Biden in his run in South Carolina, followed by Steyer and Sanders with slightly more than 1 in 10.
Biden led among moderate voters with more than half of the group supporting him. However, Biden also won over voters who consider themselves very liberal, with around 2 in 5 of the group, surpassing Sanders with 3 in 10. Warren followed Sanders with around 1 in 7 very liberal voters.
The former Delaware senator’s big win in South Carolina also poses a challenge to former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who jumped into the race in the belief that Biden was a weak candidate.
Bloomberg has splashed half a billion dollars on the race so far. Some party moderates fear he could syphon centrist votes away from Biden and open the door for Sanders.
Biden’s victory represents the most significant triumph yet in a long political career that spanned highs — including his two wins on a ticket with President Barack Obama — and devastating personal losses, as he buried a wife and two of his children.
The former vice president’s victory will also spark intensifying questions about the viability of other candidates competing with him for the moderate lane in the Democratic primary.
That includes Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar and former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg. Both candidates have failed to capitalize on encouraging performances earlier in the race.
