2020 Campaign
South Carolina lawmakers suggest Biden may be taking black voters in the state for granted
It's safe to say former Vice President Joe Biden's performances in the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary did not go as planned.
Fourth- and fifth-place finishes don't look very good when you were once considered the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination, but the Biden campaign has been waiting for South Carolina to vote later this month. Biden has traditionally dominated in polls there, and he's still the favorite. But it no longer seems like a lock, Politico reports.
Part of that is because he's apparently losing some steam with the state's black voters. Biden's support among African-American voters has been a major focus of his campaign, but some people believe the vice president has been a little too sure of himself. "I think some people feel like because he had such a wide lead and we have such a long history with him that maybe there was some sort of taking for granted that the support would remain," said Tameika Isaac-Devine, a councilwoman in Columbia, South Carolina, who hasn't endorsed any contender yet.
South Carolina State Rep. John King said he's backing billionaire Tom Steyer instead of Biden in part because, while the latter may believe he has the state's African-American vote, "he has not spent time in South Carolina and [Steyer's] people are on the ground." Read more at Politico.