Joe Biden had to win in South Carolina

Joe Biden desperately needed a win in South Carolina. His poor performances in Iowa and New Hampshire, and sub-par showing in Nevada, meant that nothing short of a blowout win in the Palmetto State would suffice for the former vice president. He poured his heart and soul into the state, pulling off the ol’ Joe routine to a tee.

It worked better than Biden himself could have imagined. Before a single ballot was counted, the networks called South Carolina for Biden. You may wonder why the election analysts were so confident? Two words: exit polls. Biden dominated with every grouping with the exception of voters under the age of 30 and Americans who were devoutly secular. South Carolinians aged 65 and older went for Biden by 44 points. African Americans, the Democratic party’s core constituency in the state, voted for Biden by 43 points. He won college gradates by an 18-point margin, those without college degrees by 27 points, and was the favorite candidate for Americans whose top voting issue was health care, income inequality, and climate change.