Harris files to put Biden on South Carolina primary ballot after calendar shuffle

Vice President Harris flew to South Carolina Friday to file paperwork to put herself and President Biden on the state’s 2024 primary ballot, a nod to both its importance in putting Biden in the White House and its newfound role as the first state on the Democratic primary calendar.

“To be here today and to just for a moment appreciate this moment in the context of history —first in the nation — and then putting it in the context of what happened in 2020, when it was South Carolina that created the path to the White House for Joe Biden and me,” Harris said to a room full of supporters in Columbia. 

“I’m here to say thank you. I’m here to say let’s do it again. We will do it again. 2024, there is so much at stake,” Harris added.

The vice president ticked through a list of the administration’s accomplishments, including investments in broadband, funding to replace lead pipes, money for historically Black colleges and universities, and legislation to lower prescription drug costs.

And she argued that Democratic victories this week in Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio and Pennsylvania were a sign that the Biden campaign was entering 2024 with momentum, even as polls indicate the president and vice president have work to do to win reelection. 

“We have momentum, the wind is at our back, and so let us continue to do what we know how to do,” Harris said. “This is a fight for, not against, and it is a fight born out of our sincere and deep love for our country and understanding what is at stake.”

South Carolina has played an important role for the Biden campaign.

The state provided a massive boost to Biden’s White House bid in 2020 after he had underwhelming showings in Iowa and New Hampshire. His win in South Carolina that year solidified his popularity among Black voters, thanks in large part to the endorsement of Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.), who joined Harris on Friday to file the primary paperwork. 

Biden last year asked the Democratic National Party to put South Carolina first on the primary calendar, putting it ahead of the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary. South Carolina will hold its primary on Feb. 3, followed by Nevada three days later. 

Democrats had long argued Iowa and New Hampshire were not fully representative of the party’s voters, but some critics have asserted putting South Carolina first was meant to insulate Biden against a possible primary challenge.

New Hampshire is set to announce its primary date next week, but Biden will not appear on the ballot there after his campaign intentionally missed the filing deadline.  

Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.), who is mounting a long-shot primary campaign against Biden, will appear on the New Hampshire ballot, and some Biden allies are working to organize a write-in campaign for the president.