What to know about the South Carolina primary

Weeks after President Biden won New Hampshire’s uncontested election last month as an additional candidate, South Carolina will officially begin the Democratic presidential nominating cycle with Saturday’s primary.

This is the first time the Palmetto State has been ranked first on the party’s official list, and the state is seen as a key indicator for Biden’s re-election bid.

South Carolina will hold its Republican primary in three weeks, with former President Trump and former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley vying to win Haley’s home state.

Here’s what you need to know about this month’s South Carolina primary.

Democratic Party changes primary election schedule

The New Hampshire Democratic Party voted last month, but the national Democratic Party is not counting the race toward its delegates for this summer’s convention.

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is moving ahead with plans to reshape the party’s nominating calendar, backed by Biden, to increase diversity in the early states, making Iowa and New Hampshire the first states in the nation to do so. It will force you out of the frame. South Carolina is a starter.

The first states to vote or caucus are widely considered to be key to a candidate’s momentum for the rest of the nomination cycle, and the DNC is pushing more demographically diverse states early in the schedule to attract voters of color. The aim was to raise the voice of the species.

But Democrats in the Granite State opposed the plan and held an uncertified primary on Jan. 23, which the DNC at one point denounced as “harmful.”

Biden, whose name does not appear on the New Hampshire ballot, won the Democratic race with the help of a write-in campaign by supporters in the state. But the Democratic National Committee said it had no chance of winning any delegates.

South Carolina will now officially begin the Democratic process, becoming the first state with Biden on the ballot.

Biden takes black voters to court

South Carolina was a crucial state for Biden when he won the Democratic nomination in 2020, demonstrating his support among black voters.

South Carolina has been moved early on the Democratic calendar to boost diverse voices, but Biden has also seen red flags about his support among black voters, and the Palmetto State is moving ahead of the election cycle. This is an important first test.

A November poll conducted by The New York Times and Siena College found that 22% of black voters in six battleground states, excluding South Carolina, said they would support Mr. Trump in this year’s election.

Mr. Biden’s approval rating was 71%, but Mr. Trump’s approval rating was the highest among black voters for a Republican presidential candidate in half a century.

“When it comes to African-American voters, I want to make it clear that no administration has done more to serve the African-American community than President Biden and Vice President Harris,” said Biden’s campaign chief. Director Quentin Fawkes said. The campaign said this when asked last month about the decline in support among key voters.

Biden challengers on the ballot

Biden, the incumbent and the clear Democratic front-runner, will formally face off against a strong challenger for the first time in the Palmetto State polls.

In last week’s unofficial New Hampshire election, Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota received about 20% of the vote, down from Biden’s write-in effort of about 64%.

Self-help author Marianne Williamson, who also ran for the White House in 2020, received 4% of the vote in the Granite State.

South Carolina has 65 delegates, and the Democratic candidate needs 2,330 to win the nomination.

Republicans will vote on February 24th

On the Republican side, Republican White House candidates have already had two formal nomination contests, with the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses and the first-in-the-nation New Hampshire primary last month.

Trump won both, and several leading candidates withdrew from the race as voters began to evaluate.

The election is currently a battle between Trump and Haley, with Haley coming in third in Iowa and second in New Hampshire.

The next election on the Republican calendar is in Nevada, with the state’s presidential primary on February 6th and the state party’s caucuses on February 8th.

Mr. Trump will participate in the caucuses, while Ms. Haley will participate only in the primary, a process that has caused confusion for voters in Nevada, many party officials say is the fourth state on the Republican calendar. I started looking at Carolina.

The Palmetto State Republican primary will be held on February 24th, approximately three weeks after the Democratic primary on February 3rd.

The stakes are high for Haley, a former South Carolina governor, as her forward momentum is in question and she seeks to avoid embarrassment in her home state.

Trump has a 30-point lead over Haley in South Carolina, according to the latest polling averages from The Hill and Decision Desk Headquarters.

South Carolinians can vote in both contests.

South Carolina’s open primary system allows registered voters to participate in the primary elections of either major party, regardless of their affiliation.

“You can choose either primary, but you can only vote in one.” by South Carolina State Board of Elections Rules.

The country is not asking for it Voters register by party To participate in this process, voting in either party’s presidential primary does not limit voters to that party’s state primary later this year.

Voters had to meet January registration deadlines (January 4 for Democrats, January 25 for Republicans) to vote on Election Day.

Polling places in South Carolina will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time on Election Day, and anyone who is in line when the polls close can vote.