Within a mere minute of the polls closing in South Carolina, Joe Biden won his first state in three presidential campaigns over more than 30 years. Right as the commentariat counted him out, Uncle Joe salvaged his Oval Office hopes, just in time to cut into Bernie Sanders’s crucial Super Tuesday lead.

That every newsroom in the country could call the primary for Biden as the doors closed across the state signifies that Biden’s lead is wide enough to put him potentially at the forefront of the national delegate count. But even earlier in the day, exit polling made clear that Biden boosted the demographics he needs to have a fighting shot at the Democratic nomination.

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