NORTH CHARLESTON, SC – US Representative Jim Clyburn, the most senior black member of Congress and the creator of South Carolina’s Democratic political orbit, endorsed Joe Biden’s presidential campaign on Wednesday. Support can provide a much needed boost to the former vice president who is heading to the South Carolina primaries.
“I can’t think of anyone better suited, better prepared, I can’t think of anyone with integrity, anyone else committed to the fundamental principles that make this country what it is than my good friend,” said Clyburn, appearing with Biden at an event in North Charleston.
He urged the people of South Carolina to “support” Biden.
Clyburn, the majority leader in the House, had long been expected to support Biden. The men have been together in Congress for more than a decade, with Clyburn also working closely with the Obama administration in his leadership positions in the House. Biden was among aspiring presidents and other notable politicians who attended a two-day funeral and religious murder last year for Clyburn’s wife, Emily.
The support could help Biden avoid limping to the finish line in Saturday’s South Carolina vote, where he has long been leading the polls, especially among black voters, who make up the majority of the Democratic constituency. But that advantage has increased in recent months, in part because of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders’ momentum following success in other early state contests. Another factor is the focus of candidates, including billionaire Tom Steyer of California, who spent millions of dollars on ads in the state and worked to build relationships with black voters.
Biden, taking the Clyburn podium on Wednesday, thanked his longtime friend, but quickly fell into an opaque reference to Sanders.
“Today, people are talking about a revolution,” said Biden. “But what the country is looking for are results. What they are looking for is security. What they seek is to be able to support and maintain their dignity. “
Biden continued, noting Clyburn’s role in securing Democratic votes for the 2010 health insurance reform, which ranks as President Barack Obama’s main domestic achievement. Biden said his proposal for a “public option” insurance plan to expand coverage of “ Obamacare“ would be based on Clyburn’s work rather than “starting from scratch” with Sanders’ proposed single-pay government insurance.
“What people are looking for is some hope, some guarantee, some sense that ‘I can take care of my family,'” said Biden.
After poor results in Iowa and New Hampshire, Biden reached second place in the Nevada caucuses, a status he said positioned him to do well in South Carolina, a state that could be a thermometer for other southern states and was routed as Biden’s support firewall.
Earlier this month, Clyburn gave some insight into his thinking when he said he was watching the efforts of several campaigns aimed at cutting Biden’s support in South Carolina. Clyburn noted that Steyer, in particular, is doing “an incredible job. “.
Clyburn also said that former Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, “is doing very well.” Clyburn had previously said that Buttigieg may have difficulties with older black voters because he is gay. Clyburn’s grandson is working for the Buttigieg campaign in South Carolina.
Asked directly whether South Carolina is Biden’s “firewall”, where success or failure can make or break his campaign in the following states, Clyburn said: “Well, I don’t know. We will see.”
Clyburn received Biden and nearly two dozen other Democratic candidates last summer on his fish fry, which started in 1992 in a parking lot near South Carolina’s Statehouse as a way of thanking the volunteers who helped him secure his first victory in the Congress. Over the years, the fish fry has blossomed into an exemplary event for Democratic politicians in the state and as a mandatory event for party presidential candidates seeking support in the state.