Catch him if you can: Joe Biden and the field in South Carolina

“Where Did You Get This Number?” is a podcast going inside the 2020 presidential campaigns, with analysis from CBS News campaign embeds, polls and other stories from the 2020 race. Subscribe today!  

South Carolina, the fourth state on the 2020 primary schedule, presents a unique challenge for the 2020 Democratic candidates. 

They are addressing a more racially and politically diverse electorate, with South Carolina being the first primary state with a majority African American Democratic constituency. Voters in South Carolina are also more socially conservative than in the other early states of Iowa, New Hampshire, and Nevada.

On this week’s episode of “Where Did You Get This Number?“, host Anthony Salvanto and CBS News 2020 campaign reporter LaCrai Mitchell explore how the 2020 candidates are campaigning in the Palmetto State in light of former Vice President Joe Biden’s consistent lead in the polls there. Specifically, what voting blocs and coalitions are they courting to boost their support in the state?

Biden has held a lead in South Carolina among African-American voters and a third of white voters since the outset of the race, according to the latest CBS News Battleground Tracker poll.

“I think all of [the candidates] can agree that Biden has a strong hold on the African-American voting bloc here, especially with older African-Americans,” Mitchell said. She specifically highlighted African-American women, many of whom tell her they have felt forgotten and neglected despite their contributions.

“We want to feel like the candidate that we help elect is going to remember us and not just mention us — and not just say, you know, ‘job well done,’ but actually consider our thoughts and opinions at the table,” said Mitchell, relaying the sentiments of the founder of Black Women Vote 2020.

The religious base is another crucial demographic for the 2020 candidates, which “can make or break a campaign,” according to Mitchell.

“So you see candidates on Sundays, when they’re in the state, they go to church, they give remarks, they stay after, they hug people, they shake hands,” Mitchell said.

South Carolina is also the first primary state where the 2020 candidates are encountering the more conservative wing of the Democratic Party. Mitchell pointed to California Democratic Senator and former candidate Kamala Harris discussing her “Medicare for All” plan at a town hall in Goose Creek, South Carolina.

“She almost made it seem like her plan is more realistic without using the word,” said Mitchell, specifically alluding to Harris emphasizing an option for voters to keep their current health care plan. “There are ways that you have to package a message for voters here that don’t come off to ‘oh, I’m giving everything to everyone for free.'”

Subscribe to “Where Did You Get This Number?” and listen to the latest episode to hear more about the 2020 candidates’ efforts to reach a variety of voters, as well as stories about, and conversations with, everyday South Carolinians.

The podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, Art19, or wherever you get your podcasts.  

 Host: Anthony Salvanto, Director of Elections and Surveys at CBS News

Guest: CBS News 2020 Campaign Reporter LaCrai Mitchell

Production Team: Maeve Burke, Jake Rosen, Allen Peng

Twitter: @WDYGTN