Joe Biden projected to win South Carolina Dem primary, snapping Bernie's winning streak

Former Vice President Joe Biden has won the South Carolina Democratic Primary.

With less than 10% of votes tallies, almost every major news network had projected Biden's victory. The Associated Press called the race in Biden's favor immediately when the poll's closed at 7 p.m. EST.

As of 8 p.m., Biden had won more than 50% of the vote. Sen. Bernie Sanders was in second, billionaire Tom Steyer was third, and Pete Buttigieg was in a distant fourth place.

The victory is Biden's first of the 2020 Democratic primary. Biden's strong support among African American voters undoubtedly help cement the victory.

The Associated Press reported:

African American voters in South Carolina backed Biden over any other candidate by a significant margin, according to AP VoteCast, a wide-ranging survey of the electorate. Close to half of black voters supported him, compared with 2 in 10 supporting Sanders and about the same for businessman Tom Steyer.

There was also evidence that Biden's status as former President Barack Obama's two-term vice president helped him win over African Americans.

Biden's win snaps winning streak. The socialist Vermont senator outright won the New Hampshire primary and Nevada caucus and essentially tied with Buttigieg in Iowa.

Biden's campaign hopes Saturday's victory will provide a springboard for Super Tuesday, when voters in 14 states will go to the polls to award one-third of all delegates available in the primary. If Biden has a strong showing on Tuesday, it will complicate Sanders' path to victory, which seemed certain after Nevada.

As far as delegates are concerned, Decision Desk HQ reported that Biden won at least 16 delegates in the Palmetto State, placing him in reach of Sanders.