Joe Biden is playing up Bill Clinton’s comeback during the 1992 Democratic presidential primary season as he seeks to convince voters in Nevada not to give up on him.
Biden, 77, who is fighting to stay in the 2020 Democratic race for the White House after finishing fourth in Iowa and fifth in New Hampshire, was confronted by a voter in Reno over his electability ahead of this Saturday’s Nevada caucuses.
“You’re smart, you’re well-educated, you’re experienced, you’ve got class, and you’ve got character,” the man started. “What the heck is going on with your campaign?”
In response, Biden called the question “legitimate” before telling the crowd his team knew the first two contests were going to be difficult for him because he polls better with minority Democrats, many of whom don’t live in the first two states.
“We’re now getting into the thick of it,” the former vice president said. “Bill Clinton lost 12 primaries before he won one and became the nominee for president. I’m not counting on waiting that long.”
In reality, Clinton, then Arkansas governor, earned the moniker the “Comeback Kid” during the 1992 cycle and won Georgia on March 3 of that year. On that day, seven states weighed in on the race, the fifth round of voting after contests in Iowa, New Hampshire, Maine, and South Dakota.
Biden has inaccurately portrayed history before over the course of his third White House bid. Last August, he falsely claimed to have had more support among black Democrats than then-Illinois Sen. Barack Obama in South Carolina during the 2008 campaign. Hillary Clinton, then a senator for New York, dominated in South Carolina until close to the end of 2007, when Obama surged. Biden was never within 15 percentage points of either rival.
Biden heads into Nevada’s Feb. 22 caucuses with an average of 16% support, well behind front-runner Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who averages 30%, according to RealClearPolitics data. Biden needs to do well in the first-in-the-West state, South Carolina on Feb. 29, and Super Tuesday on March 3 to remain a contender in the delegate count for the nomination.
