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| - Joe Biden scrambled to salvage his flagging presidential hopes Friday on the eve of South Carolina's Democratic primary, where nothing less than a decisive victory can help him rebound from disastrous early contests. The former vice president is firm favorite in the first state in the race with a substantial African-American Democratic electorate -- but trails far behind surging leftist Bernie Sanders in nationwide polls. Both candidates will have a better picture of their prospects just days after South Carolina, with 14 states voting on "Super Tuesday" and a third of the delegates who formally choose the Democrat to face President Donald Trump in November up for grabs. Biden, the former frontrunner who was unable to chalk up a win in the first three states, said he hopes South Carolina will propel him into national contention. "I feel very good. I've worked hard to earn these votes, and I think I'll do well," the 77-year-old told CNN early Friday, before heading to a trio of 11th-hour events. "It's been the launching pad for Barack and I believe for me," Biden added, referring to the nation's first black president Barack Obama. Biden was Obama's deputy for eight years. The senior statesman leads in state polling, a dozen points ahead of Sanders and 20 points up on billionaire activist Tom Steyer, who is gunning for a third-place finish. Steyer has already shelled out an extraordinary $23.6 million on ads in South Carolina, nearly 10 times the number two spender, former Indiana mayor Pete Buttigieg, according to Advertising Analytics. Some polling has been misleading in the early contests. In first-voting Iowa, for instance, Biden was second in state polls just before caucus night, but finished a disappointing fourth. Biden and fellow moderates including Buttigieg and Senator Amy Klobuchar may well face a Sanders buzzsaw come next week, with the 78-year-old self-declared democratic socialist leading in the two biggest Super Tuesday prizes including California. Sanders is running away with polling in the most populous state, where fellow progressive Senator Elizabeth Warren is in a distant second and Biden trails in third. Sanders recently eclipsed Biden to hold a narrow lead in Texas, the other big delegate gold mine, and tops polls in North Carolina, Virginia and Colorado. With several Democratic establishment leaders fretting that Sanders could hold an insurmountable delegate lead after Super Tuesday, some have begun openly sounding the alarm. Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, running mate to Hillary Clinton in 2016, endorsed Biden Friday, tweeting that "Joe has exemplary heart, character, and experience" to be commander-in-chief. Sanders's rivals have mounted a fusillade of attacks against him too. Among them were ads slamming his gun rights voting record, aired by former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, who skipped the first four states in favor of making a splash on Super Tuesday. The centrist Bloomberg, a billionaire media tycoon, has pumped a record $500 million into advertising, leading rivals to accuse him of seeking to "buy" his way into the race. Buttigieg has warned that Sanders would be too "radical" a nominee, while Biden suggested the frontrunner would get trounced by Trump in southern states. "Do you think running as a socialist would help you in Georgia, in North Carolina?" Biden said on CNN. "In South Carolina? In Texas?" Trump was intending to put his own thumb on the scales Friday, scheduling a rally in South Carolina. At a breakfast in Saint George, South Carolina, Sanders labeled the president "pathetic" for campaigning instead of governing during a public health crisis. "Hey Mr Trump, why don't you worry about the coronavirus rather than disrupting the Democratic primary right here in South Carolina?" mlm/ft
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