WASHINGTON (AP) — In a story Sept. 27 about Sen. Elizabeth Warren's campaign in South Carolina, The Associated Press erroneously referenced the city of Rock Hill as a "heavily military community." Rock Hill is not home to a major military installation, and U.S. Census data show veterans make up about 6% of the community's population.
A corrected version of the story is below:
Joe Biden's path to the Democratic presidential nomination centers on South Carolina, where he's counting on support from black voters who are critical to victory. But Elizabeth Warren is working to prove that she can also be a force there — potentially disrupting the former vice president's strategy.
After concentrating on Iowa and New Hampshire, Warren is increasingly focused on South Carolina, home to the nation's first southern primary. She'll be in the community of Rock Hill on Saturday for a town hall, and will return next month to attend a criminal justice forum in Columbia, the state capital. That follows increased travel to the state in recent weeks, including town halls on the campuses of historically black universities and visits to African American churches.
Warren still lags some of her rivals in endorsements from prominent state lawmakers or pastors. But her South Carolina moves will test whether the strength she demonstrated this summer in predominantly white Iowa and New Hampshire can carry over to states with more diverse electorates. That's a key hurdle for any Democratic nominee to clear if they hope to recreate the multicultural coalition that helped Barack Obama win the White House twice.
While many black voters are loyal to Biden, who served as Obama's No. 2, there are signs some are open to other candidates.
"Black voters aren't all that committed to Biden," said Black Voters Matter co-founder Cliff Albright. "His black support boils down to two things: His affiliation with Barack Obama and his electability."
Rather than trying to "out Obama" Biden, Albright said Warren should make her own case for electability.
With her plans to tax the wealthy to pay for programs benefiting the middle class, Warren is emerging as a chief rival to Biden, especially among progressive voters. Recent polls in Iowa and New Hampshire found her in a close race for first with the former vice president. And at least one poll published this week by Quinnipiac University suggested that trend could be playing out nationally.
But Biden's support among black voters still far outpaces that of Warren. The Quinnipiac poll showed that even as Warren's support among black voters has grown nationally, Biden still comes out well ahead. Her biggest gains were among college-educated whites.