Biden wins South Carolina primary
Former vice president Joe Biden notched up a resounding win in the South Carolina primary on Saturday, reviving his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination and positioning him as the leading rival to frontrunner Bernie Sanders.
The victory, powered by support from African-American voters, was the 77-year-old Biden's first in the race and may give him momentum going into "Super Tuesday" next week, when 14 states go to the polls.
"Just days ago the press and the pundits had declared this candidacy dead," Biden told hundreds of supporters at a victory rally in the South Carolina capital Columbia.
"You've launched our campaign on the path to defeating Donald Trump," he said.
"We have the option of winning big or losing big," Biden added in a dig at Sanders' prospects against Trump in November's election.
With 99 percent of the ballots counted, Biden had 48.4 percent to 20 percent for the 78-year-old Senator Sanders, a self-described "democratic socialist."
A victory in South Carolina, where African-Americans make up around 60 percent of the Democratic primary electorate, was seen as crucial to Biden's hopes of reviving his flagging campaign.
Sanders has been the clear leader in the overall race, winning two of the first three contests.
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