Joe Biden gets key endorsement ahead of South Carolina primary

Democratic candidate Joe Biden received the endorsement of a key African-American figure in South Carolina on Wednesday, giving a boost to the former US vice-president ahead of Saturday's primary contest.

Representative Jim Clyburn, the highest-ranking African-American in Congress, announced in a press conference in Charleston that Mr Biden was his choice for president, praising his integrity.

“I’ve known for a long time who I’m going to vote for,” he said, stating that he had decided not to share that view publicly. “But I want the public to know that I’m voting for Joe Biden. South Carolina should be voting for Joe Biden.”

Mr Clyburn’s endorsement is a crucial seal of approval for Mr Biden as he seeks to capitalise on his popularity among the black  community.  African-Americans will make up more than 60 per cent of voters casting their ballot in South Carolina on Saturday.

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The former vice-president has long argued that he can beat his rivals in the first southern state to vote, after disappointing performances in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada.

Lead narrowing

But recent polls suggest his lead over rivals has been narrowing. Bernie Sanders, who has emerged as the front-runner nationally following a decisive win in the Nevada caucus last weekend, has been campaigning heavily in the state.

Mr Biden also faces a challenge from Tom Steyer, a businessman who has spent $22 million (€20.2 million) on advertising in South Carolina.

Nonetheless, a new poll released on Wednesday places Mr Biden in the lead, with 35 per cent support among likely Democratic voters. The Clemson University Poll put Mr Steyer in second place with 18 per cent of the vote, with Mr Sanders at 13 per cent. Both Elizabeth Warren and Pete Buttigieg are at 8 per cent.

On Tuesday night, the top candidates in the Democratic race participated in the 10th primary debate in Charleston.

Much focus was on New York billionaire Mike Bloomberg, following a weak showing at his first debate performance last week. The 78-year-old is not competing in South Carolina but will be on the ballot on "Super Tuesday" next week in more than a dozen states across the country.

Mr Bloomberg came under attack from rivals, including Ms Warren, who again tackled him on his record with women employees. She said Mr Bloomberg’s announcement that he was releasing three women from non-disclosure agreements they signed with his company over sexual harassment claims was “not good enough”, and called for a “blanket release”.

She also accused Mr Bloomberg of telling an employee to have an abortion, citing a lawsuit brought by a former worker. The former mayor strongly denied having made the remark. “I never said that,” he said.

Fire from rivals

Mr Sanders also took some fire from rivals over his policies. “Can anybody in this room imagine moderate Republicans going over and voting for him?” said Mr Bloomberg, who himself was elected as mayor as a Republican.

Mr Buttigieg argued that new Democratic members of Congress who were elected in the 2018 midterm elections were worried about the impact of a Sanders nomination on their own electoral races.

“They are running away from your platform as fast as they possibly can,” he said. Mr Biden also hit out at Mr Sanders’s stance on gun control, forcing the Vermont senator to admit that he regretted voting against gun control legislation in the past.

Controversy also surfaced over Mr Sanders's recent comments about Cuba in which he praised some aspects of the Castro regime. But the senator defended his stance, noting that former president Barack Obama had also praised Cuba's health and education policies.

"It might be a good idea to be honest about American foreign policy, and that includes the fact that America has helped overthrow governments all over the world in Chile, in Guatemala, in Iran, " he said.