COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA — Early voting numbers show a significant growth in the number of black voters who voted early in the Democrats’ official “First in the Nation” primary contest of 2024, a positive sign for President Joe Biden‘s reelection chances.

Though the Palmetto State will likely vote red in November, Biden’s campaign has long pointed to South Carolina as a chance for the president to counter-narratives regarding slipping support among minority voters and concerns about his age and overall performance in the White House.

South Carolina Democratic Party Executive Director Jay Parmley and Get Out The Vote Director Lindsey Green briefed reporters on the early voting numbers Saturday afternoon, calling the outreach efforts of the state team a total “success,” even though overall early votes clocked in more than 33% lower compared to 2020.

According to the state party, 51,710 South Carolinians cast early votes in the 2024 primary, including 6,141 people voting in a Democratic primary for the first time. In 2020, 77,217 South Carolinians voted early. Democratic Party officials did not provide a projection for total turnout on Saturday.

More than three-fourths of all early voters, 76.5% to be exact, were black. More than one-fifth of all South Carolina counties, 10, surpassed their early numbers.

Though overall early voting fell dramatically, both Parmley and Green categorized the party’s grassroots effort as a “success.” Furthermore, both officials noted that while Biden is facing a challenger in Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN), the race is not “competitive” like it was in 2020. Furthermore, South Carolina allowed a month of early voting during the COVID-19 election, compared to just two weeks this cycle.

“The work we’ve done on the ground, as well as the campaigns, we’ve seen this uptick in — as a percentage — of black voters, and that’s encouraging,” Parmley stated. “We are extremely pleased as we’ve watched the turnout all across the state over the last two weeks.”

“I just want to emphasize there is not a data point to actually compare this turnout to. You can’t compare it to 2020 because that was a highly competitive primary election. In 2012, when we had an incumbent president, we didn’t have a primary,” Green added. “So this is a whole new data point. This is a completely new set of numbers that we’re going to have, so I just want to emphasize that the comparison game doesn’t exactly translate to what this primary is.”

The state party is also holding a “First in the Nation” celebration Saturday night after polls close, though neither Biden nor Vice President Kamala Harris will be in attendance. Parmley said that the party will “probably” be able to announce the total allocation of South Carolina’s 65 delegates during the event as well.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Instead of visiting South Carolina on Saturday, the president hit the West Coast for fundraisers in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. That trip followed campaign stops in Florida and Michigan last week, and he’ll additionally travel to Virginia and New York after returning to the East Coast on Monday.

Polls in South Carolina’s Democratic primary close at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday. The Republican primary will take place on February 24.