Mazel tov,” said Howard Wolfson, a top strategist for Mr. Bloomberg, in a text message after the race was called. Early voting for the presidential election starts in September in some states.
Ms. Warren is trying to survive a month without winning any delegates. South Carolinians head to the polls today to vote in the Democratic primary.
Speaking of which….
Despite support from some black activists and influencers, Senator Elizabeth Warren received only nominal support from black voters in South Carolina. (Mr. Bloomberg has saturated the airwaves there but polls show him below the 15 percent threshold to qualify for delegates statewide.). Still, all three — Mr. Buttigieg, Ms. Klobuchar and Ms. Warren — are talking less about winning states or the nomination outright and more about scooping up as many delegates as possible ahead of the Democratic convention in July. Justice Ginsburg’s death has not had much of an effect on presidential polls. Whatever momentum Mr. Biden gets will be limited in California, where more than two million Democratic and independent ballots had been returned and processed as of Saturday evening. Next stop: Super Tuesday.
Track all the latest results below. Polls show him in tight races even in some red states. South Carolina was Tom Steyer’s strongest showing of the race, but he failed to secure delegates despite spending nearly $200 million in advertising there and in other states. Trump is met by protesters as he visits Justice Ginsburg’s coffin. There was no drama this time, and no delay: Within one minute of the polls closing on Saturday, all the major networks called South Carolina for Joseph R. Biden Jr. Having performed terribly in both Iowa and New Hampshire, Biden needs a strong showing tonight.
Mr. Biden carried nearly half the vote and every county in the state — as resounding a win, if not more so, as the one Senator Bernie Sanders scored in Nevada a week earlier. Establishment Democrats are increasingly nervous that former Mayor Michael Bloomberg could siphon off moderate voters from Mr. Biden.
But in a volatile race — most polls showed Mr. Biden nowhere near the 29-point margin he won in South Carolina — the only safe bet is on unpredictability.
Michael Halle, a top Buttigieg strategist, said on Saturday it was “misguided” to look at who was winning states rather than “racking up delegates.” Ms. Warren’s aides make the same case for why she will be campaigning in California on Monday rather than defending her home turf of Massachusetts: The potential delegate haul is simply much bigger.
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