Joe Biden has easily won the South Carolina primary, NBC News projects — giving his campaign a dose of energy amid recent polls that show he is in a tight race with Donald Trump, his likely opponent in November.
Biden defeated a comparatively weak field, including Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., and author Marianne Williamson, who ran unsuccessfully for president in 2020.
Follow live results from the South Carolina Democratic primary
Biden entered the South Carolina contest as the overwhelming front-runner.
Apart from the fundraising advantages that flow from incumbency, Biden was the favorite of South Carolina’s Democratic establishment, notably James Clyburn, a power in Congress and a leader in the Black community.
Biden won the New Hampshire primary last month, but the result was largely symbolic. Democratic officials are unlikely to count delegates from New Hampshire because the state defied the party and jumped to the front of the official primary calendar. Biden did not campaign in New Hampshire, a gesture meant to honor South Carolina’s official first-in-the-nation status.
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