After Joe Biden's win, Bloomberg emphasizes his endless 'resources'
At the Blue North Carolina Celebration dinner in Charlotte, Bloomberg focused his remarks on his heavy investment in the state— 10 offices and 124 staffers — his nearly endless resources and his differences with President Donald Trump.
Bloomberg highlighted his ability to spend his immense wealth on the election and took credit for flipping 21 House seats in the 2018 midterm elections to make Nancy Pelosi the speaker. All his efforts, he said, were to hold Trump accountable.
"If you think my campaign is expensive, just think what four more years of Donald Trump will cost our country," he said, also slinging several arrows at the president for his handling of the coronavirus outbreak.
Bloomberg also dismissed his poor debate performances, which has caused his campaign to stumble. His opponents, particularly Warren, hit Bloomberg numerous times during his previous two appearances.
But none of that mattered, the New York City billionaire said, the country needed "a commander-in-chief, not a college debater-in-chief."
Warren attacks Sanders, Biden, Bloomberg and says her campaign is 'build for the long haul'
Warren went back to her old stomping grounds to address supporters in Houston, where she previously taught at the local university, after a tough projected loss in the South Carolina primary.
"Our campaign is built for the long haul - and we’re looking forward to these big contests," she said, referring to Super Tuesday.
She framed her speech around the threat of coronavirus and excoriated Trump's response to the fears of a possible global pandemic, pointing to a series of plans she plans to release to protect public health and the American economy.
"This moment is a reminder of what qualities we need in a president - and what qualities are so sorely lacking in the one we have," she said.
She also took direct shots at Biden, Sanders and Bloomberg.
"Let’s be blunt. This crisis demands more than a billionaire mayor who believes that since he’s rich enough to buy network airtime to pretend he’s the president, that entitles him to be president," she said. "This crisis demands more than a former vice president so eager to cut deals with Mitch McConnell and the Republicans that he’ll trade good ideas for bad ones."
She added, "This crisis demands more than a senator who has good ideas, but whose 30-year track record shows he consistently calls for things he fails to get done, and consistently opposes things he nevertheless fails to stop."
Biden: My campaign is 'very much alive'
Hours after he was projected to win the South Carolina Democratic primary in a landslide victory, Joe Biden excitedly thanked his supporters and loudly declared that his campaign “was very much alive.”
“To all of those who have been knocked down, counted out and left behind, this is your campaign,” Biden said to a raucous crowd at his state campaign headquarters in Columbia, S.C.
Biden said that the “the press and the pundits had declared this candidacy dead,” but “now, thanks to all of you, the heart of the Democratic Party, we won and we won big because of you.”
“And we are very much alive,” he continued. “This campaign is taking off!”
“You brought me back,” he added, prompting screaming and applause.
Biden also took a thinly veiled shot at Bernie Sanders, a democratic socialist who had been deemed the front-runner in the race.
America, he said, “wants a nominee who is a Democrat … a proud Democrat.”
Watch Biden's full South Carolina victory speech.
NBC News Exit Poll: Generational divide separates Biden, Sanders supporters
Joe Biden won today’s primary by amassing an overwhelming margin among the state’s African American voters. But black Democrats’ support for Biden is far from uniform: According to the NBC News Exit Poll, the former vice president faces a robust challenge from Sanders for the votes of the youngest generation of African Americans.
Biden’s support among African American voters was strongest among those aged 65 and over: He crushed Sanders with this group, 81 percent to 8 percent. But at each step down the generational ladder, Biden’s performance with blacks worsened and Sanders improved. Among black Democrats under age 30, Sanders came within 4 points of tying Biden.
Biden performed better with blacks than whites among all ages, but a parallel generational pattern emerged among whites: he beat Sanders among white Democrats 45 and over, but lost by substantial margins among younger whites — getting just 10 percent of the vote among whites aged 17 to 29.
Clyburn lauds Biden as 'real good man' before his S.C. victory speech
Rep. Jim Clyburn whose endorsement of Biden ahead of the South Carolina Democratic primary helped catapult him to a projected landslide win introduced the former veep ahead of his victory speech Saturday night, lauding him as a "real good man."
"This campaign, this year, is about the goodness of America," Clyburn said at Biden's South Carolina campaign headquarters in Columbia.
"And our candidate is a real good man," he said.
Biden earned a major boost from Clyburn, the most powerful Democrat in South Carolina and the highest-ranking black member of Congress, who endorsed him Wednesday and is already slated to campaign for him in neighboring North Carolina and other upcoming states.
Around half of voters said Clyburn’s endorsement was an important factor in their decision, according to NBC News exit polls.
'You cannot win ‘em all': Sanders downplays loss in South Carolina
Sanders downplayed his loss in the South Carolina primary Saturday evening, telling supporters at a campaign event in Virginia Beach that "you cannot win ‘em all."
"I am very proud that in this campaign. So far we have won the popular vote in Iowa. We have won the New Hampshire primary. We have won the Nevada caucus," Sanders said. "But you cannot win ‘em all."
"A lot of states out there and tonight we did not win in South Carolina. And that will not be the only defeat, there are a lot of states," Sanders said, congratulating Biden on his win.
With 19 percent in, Biden had 51.3 percent and Sanders had 17.8 percent.
Sanders told his supporters that he looked forward to Super Tuesday next week where he hoped to have a strong showing. Virginia, where Sanders campaigned as the South Carolina results rolled in, votes on Super Tuesday.
Watch Sanders' full South Carolina primary speech.
Medicare for All is supported by most Democrats in all four early states
Most Democrats in the first four presidential primary states support Medicare for All, according to NBC News exit or entrance polls. Support was 57 percent to 38 percent in Iowa, 58 percent to 37 percent in New Hampshire, 62 percent to 35 percent in Nevada, and 50 percent to 44 percent in South Carolina.
The broad support for Bernie Sanders' signature issue within the party spans four primary electorates with widely varying demographic makeups.
The exact wording of the NBC News questionnaire was: "How do you feel about replacing all private health insurance with a single government plan for everyone?"
Bernie Sanders will finish second in the primary and win at least 3 delegates, NBC News projects
NBC News projects that Bernie Sanders will finish second in the South Carolina primary and will win at least three delegates.
The projection comes with less than 20 percent of the results in and amid strong support among black and moderate voters for Joe Biden, NBC News' projected winner.
NBC News Exit Poll: Bloomberg finds little love from South Carolina Democrats
As in the previous early state contests for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, Mike Bloomberg was not on the ballot in today’s South Carolina primary. Bloomberg’s half-billion-dollar nationwide advertising blitz was also largely absent from the state.
But South Carolina Democrats aren’t shy about expressing sharply sour opinions about the former New York City mayor, results from the NBC News Exit Poll show.
Just a quarter of South Carolina Democratic primary voters say they have a favorable opinion of Bloomberg. That’s dwarfed by the share — two-thirds — who view him unfavorably.