Biden says he has to do ‘really well’ in South Carolina

Former Vice President Joe Biden conceded in an interview broadcast on Sunday that he has “to do really well” in the South Carolina primaries after disappointing showings in Iowa and New Hampshire but said he does not necessarily have to win the state outright.

Asked by host Chuck Todd on NBC’s “Meet the Press” whether it was necessary for him to win the state, the first Democratic primary contest with significant numbers of African American voters, Biden responded, “Well, I think I have to do really well in it.”

Pressed by Todd on whether it was possible to do well in the state without winning, Biden responded that on March 4, “we end up going into all the states, which the polling data is now showing me doing incredibly well, whether it’s North Carolina or Georgia or Texas or any of these other places.”

“So look, it’s not an apt comparison, but [former President] Bill Clinton lost his first eight, 10, 12 primaries and caucuses before he won one. I don’t plan on taking that long,” Biden continued. “But we’re just getting to the meat of getting to the number of delegates you need to be able to win this election. And I’m confident we’re going to be in good shape.”

“Is your goal to be the presumptive front-runner at the end of March?” Todd asked.

“Yes,” Biden replied.

Biden finished fourth in the Iowa caucuses and fifth in New Hampshire. He has fallen behind Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in several recent national polls.