US President Joe Biden secured a decisive victory in the South Carolina Democratic primary on Saturday, marking the commencement of his party's nomination process. According to US news organizations, Biden claimed an overwhelming 96.4% of the votes, with his sole competitors on the ballot, self-help author Marianne Williamson, earning 2%, and Minnesota congressman Dean Phillips receiving 1.6%.

"In 2020, it was the voters of South Carolina who proved the pundits wrong, breathed new life into our campaign, and set us on the path to winning the Presidency" Biden remarked in a statement. "Now in 2024, the people of South Carolina have spoken again and I have no doubt that you have set us on the path to winning the Presidency again — and making Donald Trump a loser — again.”

Biden's triumph in South Carolina brings the campaign one step closer to the general election, anticipated to be one of the lengthiest and most expensive in American political history. The Republican presidential primary in South Carolina is scheduled for February 24, with former President Donald Trump widely expected to dominate the race. An aggregation of polls by Decision Desk HQ and The Hill indicates Trump holds a 2.2 percentage point lead over Biden in a hypothetical head-to-head contest.