COLUMBIA, S.C. — Well a night of potential suspense ended quickly when Joe Biden was declared the winner of the South Carolina Democratic Party by the Associated Press and CBS News.
The race could give Biden momentum as he heads into next week's Super Tuesday race against the other contenders.
The state held the South Carolina Democratic primary Saturday, with dozens of delegates at stake..
WLTX has South Carolina primary results here. Results can be found on downloading the WLTX app here or by texting APP to 803-776-9508.
WLTX will keep a running blog below of the latest developments in the primary:
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 29:
9:40 p.m. - Tom Steyer drops out of the race
After spending million in South Carolina but ending up third with no delegates, billionaire Tom Steyer ended his campaign.
He promised to continue to fight for progressive issues.
9:05 p.m. - Joe Biden thanks supporters
Here's his full victory speech
7:55 p.m. - Why was the race called so fast?
Some wondered why the networks and the Associated Press called the race for Biden so fast.
In short, it was because of exit polls and other surveys, which showed Biden winning big. They turned out to be right.
7:01 p.m. - Joe Biden wins South Carolina
Well, that was fast. Based on exit poll data, both the Associated Press and CBS called the races for Biden.
Some of that exit poll data was released earlier, and showed Biden winning easily.
7:00 p.m. - Polls close
Polls are now closed in South Carolina. Results will be tabulated as the night goes on.
You can get full results below:
5:48 p.m. - Exit polls may hint at good news for Biden
CBS News has released exit poll data which shows some potentially good news for Joe Biden.
Almost half of primary voters said Rep. Jim Clyburn's endorsement of Joe Biden played an important factor in their vote today. Clyburn and Biden have known each other for decades.
Most respondents (51%) said they wanted to return to Barack Obama's policies. A much smaller number, 29%, said they wanted there to be more liberal policies. Bernie Sanders, the front-runner so far, is considered far more ideological liberal than Biden.
Over half (53%) said they preferred the nominee to be someone who could beat President Trump in November.
4:35 p.m. - Democrats have a numbers for voters with problems
Democrats say anyone who's had problems with voting should call 1-855-785-0222.
4:03 p.m. - Time winding down to vote
Those who want to vote had better get going! Time is running out to vote in the South Carolina Democratic primary. Polls close at 7 p.m.
3:20 p.m. - Democrats say no big problems, turnout appears to be up
Democratic leaders say there have been no major problems at the polls, and that they feel that voter turnout is up over 2016.
State Democratic Party Chair Trav Robertson said there have been reports of some problems, but no significant issues have been seen.
He said the state's election commission told him 80,000 absentee ballots have been cast. He's says that's an increase of between 28-30,000 over 2016.
As expected, the non-white vote is a significant factor, as he estimated between 55 to 62 percent of voters are non-white. He credits some of that to an increased push to register voters.
Robertson said 370,000 voted in the 2016 Democratic primary. The highest total was back in 2008, when over 570,000 participated.
2:01 p.m. - Checking in with voters at the precincts
We went to a precinct near Columbia to see what voters were dealing with.
1:51 p.m. - List of combined precincts in Lexington County
A number of precincts in Lexington County had to be combined. have a list of precincts that were combined.
Go to this link to see the full list: https://lex-co.sc.gov/sites/default/files/Documents/Lexington%20County/Departments/Registration%20and%20Elections/DemPrimaryPrecinctList.pdf
1:35 p.m. - South Carolina Democrats to give update
South Carolina Democrats are set to give an update at 2:30 p.m. on the primary. It's not clear what exactly they'll say, but they'll talk about turnout and how things have been going so far.
WLTX will have live coverage in the video player above.
12:33 p.m. - Report voting irregularities to WLTX
If you have seen problems at the polls, News19 wants to know about it. You can text to us at 803-776-9508.
12 p.m. - Some voters get frustrated
We've got a report of some voters turning away at a precinct because of the long lines. Turnout appears to be heavy, at least near Columbia, so those headed to the polls should allocate a little extra time.
11 a.m. - Long lines reported at some precincts
There are long lines of voters at some precincts in South Carolina. At the location at Polo Road in northeast Richland County, the lines stretched down a long hallway.
In some cases, the lines may be caused by a few problems at the polls.
10:39 a.m. - More problems at the polls
We heard from one voter who said that the machine wouldn't feed the paper ballot. There were told to give the ballot to a poll worker, who said they would feed it in later.
10:12 a.m. - Reminder - Polling places can change
If you're out there and wondering why your normal precinct isn't open, precincts can change on presidential primaries.
You can check that information online on SCvotes.org It will have that updated information.
9:45 a.m. - Joe Biden sees late surge in social sentiment
The Univ. of South Carolina's Insights lab collects data on social sentiment. Bernie Sanders has been the long leader among the candidates in positive sentiment, but Joe Biden has picked up a surge since Tuesday night's debate, the lab says.
9:00 a.m. - Steady lines, a few problems at the polls
We spoke with a poll worker in Richland County who said there were a few problems with some machines, but no major issues.
7 a.m. - Polls open
Polls are open across South Carolina. For the information on which poll to go to and so many other questions, go to our 2020 South Carolina Democratic Primary Voter Guide.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28:
7:30 p.m. - President Trump takes shots at the Democratic candidates
President Trump took aim at his Democratic rivals in a rally in South Carolina on the eve of the primary.
Trump has held rallies in other primary and caucus states the day before the event.
2 p.m. - Bernie Sanders rallies in Finlay Park
Hundreds of supporters for Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders flocked to Finlay Park in Columbia on Friday to hear from the presidential candidate ahead of the South Carolina primary.
Senator Sanders spoke about health care, raising the minimum wage and climate change. However, he says in order to make those changes, South Carolinians have to get out to vote.
1 p.m: Biden stops at barbershop to discuss gun violence
Former Vice-President Joe Biden made a stop on Friday at a well-known barbershop in the Columbia community.
Toliver’s Mane Event Barbershop in Columbia welcomed him. Biden pledged to continue fighting for new gun laws.
Full Primary Resources:
Latest Results: South Carolina primary real-time election results page
Election Alerts: Download the WLTX app here or text APP to 803-776-9508.
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