By Andy Brack, editor and publisher  |  It can be argued that without South Carolina, Biden wouldn’t be president-elect. 

In February, he won the Democratic presidential primary in South Carolina.  It was his first big win that preceded a string of wins built on the strong backing of U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, the Palmetto State’s kingmaker. Clyburn’s endorsement of Biden in late February is widely viewed as the key to Biden’s win here, which was key to securing the nomination.

But much earlier, the late U.S. Sen. Fritz Hollings, who was chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in 1972, tapped Biden as the Democrat for Washington senators to support in the Delaware race for U.S. Senate. Then 29, Biden was a county councilman and unknown to many.

“He ended up taking a chance on me,” Biden said in April 2019 at Hollings’ funeral.