2020 South Carolina Democratic presidential primary

2020 South Carolina Democratic presidential primary

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64 delegates (54 pledged, 10 unpledged) to the Democratic National Convention The number of pledged delegates won is determined by the popular vote
Candidate Joe Biden Bernie Sanders Tom Steyer Home state Delaware Vermont California Delegate count 39 15 0 Popular vote 262,336 106,605 61,140 Percentage 48.6% 19.8% 11.3%   Candidate Pete Buttigieg Elizabeth Warren Home state Indiana Massachusetts Delegate count 0 0 Popular vote 44,217 38,120 Percentage 8.2% 7.1%
County results Congressional district results Biden   30 – 40%   40 – 50%   50 – 60%   60 – 70%   70 – 80%

Elections in South Carolina
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Greenville Mayoral elections 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
v t e

The 2020 South Carolina Democratic presidential primary took place on February 29, 2020 and was the fourth nominating contest in the Democratic Party primaries for the 2020 presidential election. The South Carolina primary was an open primary and awarded 64 delegates to the 2020 Democratic National Convention, of which 54 were pledged delegates allocated on the basis of the results of the primary. Former vice president Joe Biden and senator Bernie Sanders were the only candidates to earn delegates. Biden won 48.7% of the popular vote and notably placed first in every county in the state; it was his first ever win in a presidential primary. Sanders came in second place and won 19.8% of the popular vote. Businessman Tom Steyer, who had staked his entire campaign on the state, placed third but did not surpass the threshold and dropped out of the race, endorsing Biden.

The primary was widely interpreted as a turning point for the 2020 primaries, with Joe Biden gaining momentum going into the pivotal Super Tuesday races three days later. Following successes in the previous primaries, former mayor Pete Buttigieg and senator Amy Klobuchar received very disappointing results and initially wanted to stay in the race, but they both suspended their campaigns shortly before Super Tuesday and endorsed Biden on the day before.^[1][2][3] While Biden and former mayor Michael Bloomberg were left as the only moderates afterwards, the majority coalesced around Biden in the race against left-wing candidates Sanders and senator Elizabeth Warren.^[4]