Increasingly written off as "Mr. Yesterday" by Democratic operatives and ignored in recent debates by other opponents, Joe Biden on Saturday roared back into the front row of his party's presidential sweepstakes with a smashing win in the South Carolina primary.
Almost as soon as the networks called the former vice president the winner in the Palmetto State, all political eyes focused on Super Tuesday — March 3, when 14 states and American Samoa elect 1,367 of the 3,979 delegates to the Democratic National Convention.
The scenario of Biden not only emerging as the centrist alternative to Bernie Sanders on Super Tuesday but the frontrunner for the nomination to oppose President Donald Trump was widespread once South Carolina's results were in.
"Joe Biden needed a big win and he got it," former California Democratic Chairman Bill Press told Newsmax shortly after the networks called South Carolina for Biden. "His resounding victory in South Carolina [nearly 50% of the vote] will propel him into a strong showing on Super Tuesday."
Press, a close associate of California's former Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown, added that "Biden was the only realistic alternative to Bernie Sanders. The other candidates might as well drop out now."
This view was seconded by veteran polling analyst Jay O'Callaghan, who told Newsmax: "Biden won big with black voters in South Carolina and narrowly led Sanders among white voters. This victory gives him considerable momentum with Super Tuesday voters."
O'Callaghan said Biden would be especially strong in states with large minority populations: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.
But Biden is not necessarily guaranteed big wins everywhere on Super Tuesday. Minnesota, which will choose by a caucus, and Massachusetts are sure to be friendly turf to their "favorite daughters," Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.
The "Sandernistas," however, are waging spirited campaigns in both states.
California (415 delegates) also presents a major stumbling block to Biden. A just-completed KQED-Change Research poll among likely voters statewide showed Sanders with a commanding lead of 37% to Warren's 20% and Biden's 12%.
"Biden could have a big Super Tuesday in a lot of places around the country, but California will be especially tough for him," said Dan Schnur, professor at the University of California-Berkley's Institute of Government Studies.
Unclear after Biden's resurgence is how Mike Bloomberg's spending of more than $250 million from his own bank accounts will impact on Super Tuesday, when the former New York City mayor will appear for the first time on any ballot outside New York City.
Super Tuesday will be a seminal moment in the race for the Democratic nomination against Trump. For now, however, South Carolina has given Biden the opportunity he desperately needed to be a player.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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