By: Annika Singh, Nandini Krishnan
The South Carolina primary ended with an expected Joe Biden win - but his impressive lead was surprising. Biden’s poor finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire were of no concern to him - he spent less than Klobuchar, Warren, and Buttigieg in South Carolina advertisements. Joe Biden’s victory, however, gives his campaign a new boost as the candidates approach Super Tuesday, where 1,357 delegates in 14 states and 1 US territory are at stake.
Tom Steyer, on the other hand, the billionaire businessman who had yet to secure any delegates in any of the primaries or caucuses so far, spent far more on South Carolina ads than all of the other candidates combined (yes, even Bloomberg - Steyer is reported to have spent over $23 million in advertisements). However, the results placed Steyer in third place (at around 11%, the candidate received no delegates), a disappointing finish that caused him to exit the presidential race.
Another candidate exited the race following a poor outcome in the primary: Pete Buttigieg dropped out on March 1st. After Buttigieg’s win in Iowa, his placements have only gotten worse in the following caucuses and primaries, leaving him in fourth place in the South Carolina primary. He acquired no delegates in South Carolina, which made the path forward to Super Tuesday difficult.
Super Tuesday will mark Bloomberg’s debut in the Democratic primaries and caucuses, and leave room for any of the six candidates left to replace Bernie Sanders as the frontrunner in the total delegate counts.
Comments