Image Source: TRIBUNE

An outpouring of black voter support propelled Joe Biden to a convincing victory in South Carolina’s Democratic primary on Saturday, resurrecting his faltering White House bid and giving the former vice president a chance to claim he is the moderate alternative to front-runner Bernie Sanders.

The win gives Biden a burst of momentum as the Democratic race to find a challenger to Republican President Donald Trump broadens quickly, with Super Tuesday primaries in 14 states in three days that will award one-third of the available national delegates.

With 85% of the precincts reporting, Biden had 49% of the vote and US Senator Sanders of Vermont was a distant second with 20%, according to official state results. Billionaire activist Tom Steyer had 11% and all of the other contenders were well behind with single digits.

After the vote count rolled in, Steyer, who had been spending heavily in South Carolina to court African-American voters, ended his presidential bid later on Saturday as it emerged he was coming in a distant third.