South Carolina is holding its Democratic primary Saturday. It’s the first official contest of the national Democratic Party’s nomination process to choose a nominee for the November general election.
That’s a mouthful. Basically, it just means that the national Democratic Party is counting the South Carolina results in its delegate tally and that they didn’t count the results from New Hampshire. Why?
Well, for decades, Iowa and New Hampshire held formal primaries and caucuses and allocated delegates. But that changed last year when the national Democratic Party — with President Joe Biden’s encouragement — moved its primary calendar around to emphasize states with greater racial diversity. (Read more about the decision to change the Democratic primary schedule.)
Polls close in South Carolina at 7 p.m. ET, and we’ll have live results below from the Associated Press. Republicans will hold their own primary in South Carolina on Saturday, Feb. 24.
This embedded content is not available in your region.
(Thumbnail image: A woman votes in Stiles Point Elementary School in Charleston, S.C., on Feb. 3, 2024. Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)
Signup bonus from
