SC to be ‘real test’ of Biden electability against Trump, says John Kerry in Rock Hill
Linda Love crammed into presidential hopeful Joe Biden’s Rock Hill campaign office Wednesday evening with about 13 other supporters. Former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry had finished a speech, defending Biden’s persistent message that he is the candidate who can beat President Donald Trump.
Biden’s electability claim has been questioned after back-to-back poor primary performances in early states Iowa and New Hampshire. But Kerry, who was the Democratic nominee in the 2004 presidential election, referenced an NBC News-Wall Street Journal poll released Tuesday multiple times. That poll shows Biden leading Trump nationally more than any other candidate in general election match-ups and in battleground, or swing, states.
“It shows that only one candidate — Joe Biden — is the one who beats Trump in the battleground states,” Kerry told the group. “The simple reality is, you’ve got to have a nominee who can win and you’ve got to have a nominee who has the ability to bring all cross sections of America together. South Carolina is going to be the first real test of that.”
The small group, which was participating in a phone bank, stood and clapped. One supporter shouted, “Come on South Carolina.”
But for some supporters, such as Love, who have grown worried about Biden’s electability after the former vice president finished fourth in Iowa and fifth in New Hampshire, Kerry’s visit wasn’t enough to ease concerns.
“It worries me a lot,” she said. “I’m very worried. If Joe slips in the polls, I’m not going to be able to convince people to vote for him.”
Love, a longtime Biden supporter, said she hasn’t lost confidence in the former vice president. She’s fearful other people have.
“I think Biden can beat Trump,” she said. “But if Joe doesn’t come up in the polls, I think it’s going to hurt him. That’s how bad we want to beat Trump. There’s strength in numbers. And if we don’t win in the polls, then we’re not going to beat Trump. Our eyes are on beating Trump.”
But Marianetta Smith, who sat beside Love, jumped in.
“I’m optimistic because I know the polls don’t always show everything,” Smith, from Rock Hill, said. “I think as we go on through this process of eliminating down to the number one candidate, we’ll be able to make a better decision about how Biden stands against everyone else.”
Biden has consistently led in state polls, mostly due to his strength among black voters, who are expected to cast a majority of the state’s Feb. 29 primary votes.
“I think when you look at some of the background he’s had, he can line up with the African-American struggle in that he had to struggle for everything that he had,” Smith said. “I think that connection holds true.”
But Biden is starting to see cracks in support in the state he describes as his firewall. Sen. Bernie Sanders and billionaire Tom Steyer have closed the gap on Biden in South Carolina polls.
“It’s like he’s taking South Carolina for granted,” Love said. “You cannot do African Americans like that. You cannot take us for granted. We do have choices. You need to come check on us.”
Less than 10 days ahead of the state’s Democratic primary, Biden’s campaign has sent key surrogates, including Kerry, across South Carolina. And Biden’s sister Valerie Biden Owens and senior adviser Symone Sanders will stump for Biden in Rock Hill Friday, according to his campaign website.
“You need a savvy, politically skilled, diplomatically aware person who has a track record of building relationships,” Kerry told the group Wednesday. “He knows the leaders of the world. He’s worked with the leaders of the world and in my judgment, he is the best person in the best place to be able to put America where it needs to be — leading the free world again.”
And despite Biden’s struggle in the first two early states, Kerry said South Carolina and Nevada reflect more diversity and will yield different results than Iowa and New Hampshire, again citing the NBC News-Wall Street Journal poll.
“The fact that the Wall Street Journal-NBC poll, which is a very respected poll, shows that only Joe Biden wins on a national level, I believe, counters why Iowa and New Hampshire flow a little differently than other places,” he said in an interview with reporters. “But I think there’s a different kind of test now as you get into the Super Tuesday and into the general election.”
He said Biden is the only Democratic candidate with the experience necessary to take on the presidency.
“I saw Joe Biden up close and personal, in the situation room of the White House, making decisions and advising the president of the United States and helping the president to pass really difficult legislation,” Kerry told reporters. “I don’t think we have the time to wait for people to understand what the job really is...so I think South Carolina that knows Joe Biden really well has an opportunity to make a stand here.”
This story was originally published February 20, 2020 at 1:00 PM with the headline "SC to be ‘real test’ of Biden electability against Trump, says John Kerry in Rock Hill."
