South Carolina Democrats Find Themselves at Election Crossroads

Democrats bring mixed emotions to their first presidential primary, one in which Joe Biden is heavily favored but over which Donald Trump casts a long shadow.

President Joe Biden speaks to a crowd during the South Carolina Democratic Party First in the Nation Celebration and dinner at the state fairgrounds on Jan. 27, 2024 in Columbia, South Carolina. Sean Rayford/Getty Images

COLUMBIA, S.C.—Democrat voters will enter the voting booth in the state’s primary election on Saturday driven in nearly equal parts by an aspiration for a better future and apprehension about the effect of a second Trump administration on their lives.

Jamie Harrison, 47, chair of the Democratic National Committee, captured the mood of a group of mostly black voters in Florence on Feb. 1. “This election is about hope versus fear, progress versus chaos,” he said to scattered responses of yes and amen.