Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., left, accompanied by Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., speaks during a news conference on the cost of prescription drugs, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2015, on Capitol Hill in Washington.(Photo: Susan Walsh, AP)
WASHINGTON — Sen. Bernie Sanders makes his second trip as a presidential candidate to South Carolina on Saturday, hoping to broaden his appeal with a key constituency -- African Americans -- in the first Southern primary state.
Black voters likely will comprise more than half of the Democratic primary electorate in the Palmetto State, where the Vermont independent is largely unknown and his rival, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, enjoys long-standing support and name recognition.
As polls show his support rising in Iowa and New Hampshire, Sanders plans to spend more time introducing himself to voters in South Carolina and other states. He has scheduled events on Sunday in North Carolina and on Monday in Virginia, including a speech at the evangelical Christian Liberty University.
“We are going to have a statewide effort, going door-to-door in South Carolina,” said Sanders’ campaign manager, Jeff Weaver. “We take nothing for granted. We’re going to fight for every single vote there.”
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Sanders will make three stops in South Carolina, beginning with a town hall meeting at a historically black school, Benedict College, in Columbia. He’ll be joined by author and civil rights activist Cornel West, a supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement that has disrupted Sanders’ campaign events with protests.
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Since he formally<span style="color: Red;">*</span>announced his campaign in May, Sanders has increased his focus on racial justice issues, the need to combat poverty among African Americans, and “institutional racism.” His speeches in South Carolina will cover those topics and will pitch a higher minimum wage, free college tuition and criminal justice reforms, including Sanders’ plan to end government contracts to privately-run prisons.
Election watchers say Sanders should address pocketbook concerns and racial issues in South Carolina, where nine members of a historically black church were fatally shot in June in what police say was a racially motivated attack.
“If he’s speaking to the issues that people care about, I think people will take a look and consider him,” said Jaime Harrison, chairman of the South Carolina Democratic Party. “I think Bernie’s biggest challenge is that people don’t know who he is.”
Sanders edged past Clinton in one Iowa poll this week and is leading her in New Hampshire, neighbor of his home state of Vermont. But a Public Policy Polling survey of South Carolina Democratic voters this month showed only 9 percent supported Sanders while 54 percent supported Clinton and 24 percent supported Vice President Joe Biden, who has not entered the race. Only 3 percent of Sanders’ supporters identified as African-American.
Sanders, who drew crowds in the thousands during his August trip to the state, is working to change that. During that trip, he met with African-American leaders and elected officials, and campaign staff says he’ll continue to hold such meetings. His South Carolina presence includes two offices with 15 full-time workers, and he plans to open more by the end of the month.
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“It’s not that the message is not resonating with the African-American community,” said Sanders’ South Carolina state director, Chris Covert. “It’s that we haven’t communicated with them yet. We want to build relationships and make sure that people fully understand the senator’s message. They don’t know him yet.”
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