Author Marianne Williamson is on track to defeat Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) for second place Saturday in the South Carolina Democratic primary, in which both candidates finished in the low single digits — trailing President Joe Biden by more than 100,000 votes.
With about 95% of the vote tallied, Williamson secured 2% of the vote to Phillips’s 1.7%, dealing a blow to the Minnesota congressman who spent time campaigning in the Palmetto State to boost his long-shot presidential bid. Both were far below Biden, who amassed 96% of the votes by 11 p.m.
Still, the results show a better-than-expected showing for Williamson after she largely skirted campaign events in South Carolina to focus on the Nevada primary next week. Williamson even considered suspending her campaign altogether, she said in a video announcement last month, but she ultimately decided against it.
Phillips, who has funded his campaign with a $4 million personal loan, gave no indication Saturday that he was dropping his White House bid. Instead, he mocked Biden for low turnout and announced campaign stops in Michigan.
The primary election was called in Biden’s favor shortly after the polls closed at 7 p.m., with the president easily besting his two challengers. While the race is largely uncompetitive and Biden is poised to clinch the party’s nomination, Democrats wanted a strong showing to demonstrate enthusiasm for the 81-year-old president and his decision to elevate South Carolina to the coveted first in the nation primary slot.
However, the race attracted a relatively low turnout despite national Democrats’ efforts. That could be because some Democrats are holding out to vote in the Republican primary later this month. South Carolina conducts open primaries, meaning registered voters can cast their ballot in either primary regardless of party affiliation.
As a result, some Democrats may be planning to vote for Nikki Haley in the GOP primary instead to thwart former President Donald Trump’s momentum and block him from winning the Republican Party nomination. One group, Primary Pivot, sent thousands of text messages to South Carolina residents who voted in the 2020 Democratic primary, urging them to sit out Saturday’s contest and vote for Haley later this month.
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South Carolina Democrats sought to discourage voters from doing that, pointing to her conservative record as the state’s former governor.
“We know that she’s the mother of the MAGA movement,” state Democratic Party Chairwoman Christale Spain said Saturday. “Haley had already signed an extreme abortion ban into law with no exceptions for rape or incest. Nikki Haley refuses Medicaid here in South Carolina.”
