Free Republic

South Carolina is the nation's first open primary in the 2020 presidential election cycle — voters of any party may participate meaning independent and opposing-party voters can play a role.

Joseph R. Biden Jr. has won the South Carolina primary

A sea of red MAGA hats and chants of “four more years” filled the parking lot of the North Charleston Coliseum on Friday, a day before South Carolina’s highly anticipated Democratic primary. “This is like Republican Woodstock,” said S.C. GOP Chairman Drew McKissick.

Biden: 36% Sanders: 16% Steyer: 15% Warren: 8% Buttigieg: 6% Klobuchar: 4% Gabbard: 1%

More Republican groups hoping to meddle in the state’s Democratic presidential primary on Saturday have decided who will get their vote. The Greenville Tea Party has chosen to support for Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, as he has risen in the polls and has won the popular vote in the Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada contests. Former Vice President Joe Biden has consistently led in the South Carolina polls, but the lead over Sanders has shrunk in recent weeks. Stephen Brown, the former chairman of the Greenville Tea Party, said a few thousand votes may tip the scales of Saturday’s...

Former President Obama's attorneys say they plan to file a cease-and-desist letter over a pro-Trump group's television ad in South Carolina that attacks former Vice President Joe Biden by using a portion of Obama's book Obama is also demanding that all South Carolina television stations immediately stop running the ad from the Committee to Defend the President, which is aimed at supporting President Trump's reelection bid. The ad uses excerpts from Obama's 1995 memoir, "Dreams from My Father," in an effort to get the attention of black voters in the state. "Joe Biden promised to help our community. It was...

As we head back to South Carolina, the state that fought to protect the white primary until the 1950s, it’s as if black voters don’t matter – again In 1896, a moment marked by increased lynchings, violence and disfranchisement, South Carolina added to the woes and created the white primary. The law, which the rest of the one-party south would adopt throughout the Jim Crow era, said only white people could vote in the Democratic primary election. White people, mostly men, would alone choose who would go on to the general election in November. Then, and only then could African...

Former Vice President Joe Biden has an 18-point lead over his Democratic presidential primary opponents in South Carolina, according to a poll released Wednesday. Biden has 35 percent support in the Clemson University poll released just days ahead of Saturday’s South Carolina primary. Businessman Tom Steyer, who has focused much of his campaign on South Carolina, pulled in a distant second at 17 percent support in the poll.

Seven Democratic candidates for president will meet on the debate stage in Charleston, South Carolina, in a debate hosted by CBS News. It's the last time the candidates will face off before Saturday's critical South Carolina primary — and the last one before voters in 16 states and territories go to the polls on Super Tuesday, March 3. "CBS Evening News" anchor and managing editor Norah O'Donnell and "CBS This Morning" co-host Gayle King will moderate the debate, joined in questioning by "Face the Nation" moderator and senior foreign affairs correspondent Margaret Brennan, chief Washington correspondent Major Garrett and "60...

On Wednesday, the South Carolina Republican Party’s conclusion to not hold a 2020 Presidential primary has been confirmed and upheld. This will make it even more difficult for less prominent candidates who are pushing to win against Trump. The resolution was upheld by Circuit Judge Jocelyn Newman, who said the law “does not give Plaintiffs a legal right to a presidential preference primary, and the Court will not substitute its own judgment for that of the General Assembly or the SCGOP.” Bob Inglis, former South Carolina congressmen sued state Republicans, claiming this decision to skip the primary, strips him and...

Former Vice President Joe Biden was not allowed to participate in communion at the Saint Anthony Catholic Church in Florence, South Carolina on Sunday. Father Robert Morey told the Florence Morning News he denied Biden, a lifelong Catholic, from participating in the Holy Communion because of his stance on abortion.“Sadly, this past Sunday, I had to refuse Holy Communion to former Vice President Joe Biden,” Morey told the Florence Morning News. “Holy Communion signifies we are one with God, each other and the Church. Our actions should reflect that. Any public figure who advocates for abortion places himself or herself outside...

Former Vice President Joe Biden was reportedly denied Holy Communion at a South Carolina church on Sunday because of his support for abortion. Father Robert E. Morey of Saint Anthony Catholic Church said Monday that he did not allow Biden, who attended the Catholic church’s 9 am mass, to receive communion. “Sadly, this past Sunday, I had to refuse Holy Communion to former Vice President Joe Biden,” Morey told the Morning News in Florence, South Carolina. “Holy Communion signifies we are one with God, each other and the Church. Our actions should reflect that. Any public figure who advocates for...

Two Republicans, one of them former congressman Bob Inglis, have sued the S.C. Republican Party over its decision to cancel its GOP presidential primary next year. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Richland County, alleges the party scrapped their 2020 election contest illegally and violated its own party rules and state election law. The suit further contends the near-unanimous decision made by the state party’s Executive Committee deprives Inglis, of Greenville, and fellow plaintiff Frank Heindel of Mount Pleasant, of their right to vote for the candidate of their choosing in the 2020 primary. “Instead, the State Executive Committee has chosen...

Former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford announced Sunday that he is running for president as a Republican, becoming the latest to challenge President Trump in the GOP primaries. Sanford said the Republican Party is facing an identity crisis, and he wants the GOP to take a look at itself and do some soul searching. “I think we have to have a conversation about what it means to be a Republican,” Sanford told “Fox News Sunday,” claiming the party “has lost our way.” Sanford specifically made reference to the debt, deficit and government spending. Other conservatives expressed concern about these issues...

ANDERSON — Vice President Mike Pence told an enthusiastic crowd of 3,000 conservatives Monday night that he was in South Carolina’s Upstate for only one reason: to ensure President Donald Trump wins reelection next year. “It’s time for round two, everybody,” Pence said at U.S. Rep. Jeff Duncan’s 9th annual Faith and Freedom BBQ fundraiser. “It’s on.” Pence listed a litany of what he views as the strongest accomplishments of the Trump administration, including low unemployment, increased military spending and a raft of new conservative judges. But Pence’s stated reason for making the trip could not entirely tamp down speculation...

Did you know that Joe Biden had an "overflow" crowd in Charleston, South Carolina on Sunday? In case you didn't know this, several members of the media elite repeatedly hyped that point on Twitter. Of course, there were a few things suspicious about the supposed overflow such as the rather small size in the mere dozens plus the fact that there was a temporary stage along with sound system very conveniently set up in the "overflow" room. Also the fact that Biden addressed the overflow crowd before speaking in the main room which has an official capacity of 300 and...

In a first, only one TV outlet -- MSNBC -- will be allowed to deliver live coverage of Saturday’s South Carolina Democratic Convention where 21 presidential candidates are expected to speak, drawing heated complaints from other networks......In an email to the media, the party announced that MSNBC had the 'exclusive rights' to cover the event live. It did not explain why. C-SPAN, which has never been denied live coverage of a state convention in the network’s 40 years, has reluctantly pulled out of the convention and other weekend events sponsored by the party. CNN has filed a complaint. Fox will...

Former Vice President Joe Biden is significantly leading the Democratic primary race in South Carolina according to a poll released on Monday. Biden leads the field convincingly with 32 percent of the vote, according to a poll of voters conducted by Change Research, while Sen. Bernie Sanders only has 14 percent support. Kamala Harris comes in third place with 10 percent followed by Corey Booker and Beto O’Rourke tied at nine percent. Biden has yet to officially announce his run for president. Stacy Abrams, the former failed candidate for Georgia Governor, has not announced a 2020 campaign but currently has...

U.S. Rep. Mark Sanford’s congressional farewell message is a nearly 4,000-word essay that warns of the growing political decay in the era of President Donald Trump. “I want to be clear and explicit that I am not likening Trump to Hitler, but the forces at play could lead to a future Hitler-like character if we don’t watch out,” he wrote in a Facebook posting Wednesday.