WASHINGTON – Taking the stage after his Overwhelming victory in South Carolina, Joe Biden hugged his longtime friend, Representative James Clyburn, who gave the former vice president coveted approval three days before the state primary.
“You brought me back,” said a radiant Biden to Clyburn, the majority House whip and the highest-ranking African American congressional officer, whom he called “my boyfriend.”
It was not an exaggeration. Clyburn is a historic figure in a state where around 60% of all Democratic voters are black.
Exit polls indicated that almost half – 47% – of Democratic primary voters in South Carolina said that Clyburn’s approval was an important factor in their vote. Additionally, 24% said it was the most important factor.
Clyburn told USA TODAY that the prospect of a second term for President Donald Trump made him “fearful” for the future.
“Everyone says a win is a win and it’s true,” said Clyburn in the interview on the eve of Friday’s primary. “But I would love to see a victory big enough to create an image of a wave or good stories.”
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“I think, especially the people of North Carolina and Georgia, will examine these results,” he said.
Patrick Murray, director, The Monmouth University polling institute said the exit poll confirmed Clyburn’s importance to Biden on Saturday.
“I don’t think I can ever point to a time when (a quarter of the voters) said that something that had just happened was the most important factor,” he said.
Biden would likely have won without Clyburn’s approval, said Murray, “but probably not as decisively and the decisive victory is the key here.”
It was more than Clyburn’s approval that made the difference. Clyburn told the Washington Post that it was also essential to privately advise Biden last week that he should give up his soft approach and lackluster campaign and fight harder for the nomination.
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Biden said he understood: “He told me,” I have it, “Clyburn told the newspaper.
Clyburn is already planning to trip over for Biden in North Carolina, one of 14 states holding primaries on Great Tuesday in three days.
Clyburn told the US TODAY that he hopes his positions and influence in the key southern state will help Biden relaunch his struggling presidential campaign.
“I have to protect my investment. I’m investing in this guy. I believe in him, ” said Clyburn. “I don’t want anyone to think that I approve of it and that I’m going to hide somewhere.” I will go wherever he asks me to go, with or without him. “
He refused to remain silent
Clyburn’s approval did not surprise those who followed his career. He and Biden have been close for years. Biden was chosen as vice president of Barack Obama, the country’s first black president. And Biden is no stranger to visiting South Carolina.
“I have not seen him support any of the others,” said Rickey Hill, former chair of the Department of Political Science and History at South Carolina State University.
He said Clyburn, whom he called an “energy broker”, could have approved Biden earlier and before Tuesday’s debate, but “you have to have a little theater, a little theater.”
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In her emotional announcement, Clyburn talked about his late wife, Emily, and his love for Biden. He also spoke of an elderly woman who asked who was supporting. He said she wanted to hear from him, as did the community.
“I decided then that I would not remain silent,” he said later.
Biden and other presidential candidates had courted Clyburn and other members of the Congressional Black Caucus.
Clyburn has a long tradition of not approving a candidate until close to primary, if at all. He said he wanted the candidates to court the voters of his state, plead their case and spend their money.
“I have known for a long time who I was going to vote for,” he said.
Clyburn used one of the state’s new voting machines in Orangeburg on Friday to vote for Biden. He checked before leaving to make sure there were no errors.
Almost 30 miles away in Columbia, Biden was campaigning, even stopping at the Clyburn hair salon, showing some of the passion that Clyburn had driven.
Clyburn said he had seen “a little more energy” in the last few days at the polls.
“He talks to these people”
The statue of Clyburn in the state as the first African American to sit in Congress since the reconstruction and its leadership in a predominantly black neighborhood, make his approval significant.
“He talks to these people,” said Adolphus Belk, Jr., professor of political science and African American studies at Winthrop University. “He has a good reputation with them, so it’s an approval that counts.”
Belk cited a recent Winthrop University poll that found that one in five black voters in South Carolina were undecided before elementary school. And the gap between Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Had narrowed.
Political experts note that Biden has called South Carolina its “firewall” and should seriously assess whether he should give up the race if he doesn’t win the state.
Biden’s losses in previous competitions worried Clyburn. He was concerned that people would favor the winners of these contests. He is counting on a change after South Carolina and said Friday he hoped the team could “turn the tide”.
Impact beyond South Carolina
Clyburn plans to take his support for Biden on the road, heading Sunday to North Carolina and possibly Virginia on Monday. Clyburn’s influence could potentially help Biden raise funds, something he struggled with.
“There are many things that Representative Clyburn brings to the table that the party may need if it is to meet its objective in these elections,” said Belk.
Clyburn also plans to join efforts to get the vote out to African American communities, particularly in the South.
The former president of the Congressional Black Caucus spent weeks during the mid-term of 2018 campaigning for Democratic candidates in competitive races. Many, including Andy Kim of New Jersey, won and helped the Democrats regain control of the House.
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Clyburn plans to continue this year with a stop in California in mid-March.
“We are looking for a (presidential) candidate who will help us win the seats,” he said.
