Joe Biden has declared his campaign resurrected after his decisive win in the South Carolina primary, breathing fresh life into his candidacy after an exceedingly lacklustre start to the nomination season that saw him beaten — badly — in three successive states.

With his win in the Palmetto State, the former vice president has made good on a promise that he could attract voters in the state’s large African American population, even as his claim to being the most electable candidate took repeated hits in Iowa, then New Hampshire and then Nevada just one week ago.

“To all of those of you who have been knocked down, counted out, left behind, this is your campaign,” Mr Biden said during an emotional speech in which he at one point wiped a tear away at his campaign's celebration party in Columbia. “Just days ago the press and the pundits had declared this candidacy dead. Now, thanks to all of you, the heart of the Democratic Party, we just won and we won big because of you. And we are very much alive.”

The former vice president had campaigned in-part on what he and others have described as a long history between himself and the state, and especially the African American community there that still remembers his former boss Barack Obama’s presidency fondly.

He now heads on to Super Tuesday, where he will hope to further blunt the momentum gained by Bernie Sanders — who was projected to come in second place in South Carolina — in the first few states to have voted. Signalling that Mr Biden may prove to be the standard bearer for moderate Democrats in that upcoming fight, the former vice president picked up a key endorsement from Terry McAuliffe, the former governor of Virginia who said he plans on hitting the campaign trail over the next few days.

Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures Show all 18 1 /18 Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures Jessica Canicosa, a precinct captain for Bernie Sanders, waits to greet caucus voters at Liberty High School in Henderson, Nevada REUTERS Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures Hotel workers at the Bellagio in Las Vegas get to grips with voting papers during the Nevada caucuses AFP via Getty Images Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures A caricature of Bernie Sanders is projected on to a tree during a rally in Las Vegas EPA Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures A woman waits to have a photo taken with Elizabeth Warren during a town hall meeting in Las Vegas REUTERS Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures The threat of coronavirus and other germ-borne illnesses was on some voters' minds at the Democratic caucuses in Henderson, Nevada Getty Images Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures Former vice-president Joe Biden takes a selfie with a voter in Las Vegas ahead of the Nevada caucuses REUTERS Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures Amy Klobuchar changes her shoes backstage after giving a speech in Exeter, New Hampshire AFP/Getty Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures A warmly-wrapped-up dog attends an Elizabeth Warren event at Amherst Elementary School in Nashua, New Hampshire AFP/Getty Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures Bernie Sanders, who romped to victory in New Hampshire against Hillary Clinton in 2016, talks to the media in Manchester Getty Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures Joe Biden was hoping to improve on his poor showing in Iowa in the New Hampshire primary Reuters Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures Elizabeth Warren, renowned for giving time to supporters for selfies, works the crowd at the University of New Hampshire in Durham Getty Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures Joe Biden takes a selfie with a supporter and his child outside a campaign event in Somersworth, New Hampshire on 5 February Reuters Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders quarrel after a confrontation in a TV debate in which Sanders claimed that Warren was not telling the truth about a conversation in which she claimed he had said a woman could not win the presidency on 14 January AP Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures Supporter Pat Provencher listens to Pete Buttigieg in Laconia, New Hampshire on 4 February Getty Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures Pete Buttigieg speaks at a campaign event in Concord, New Hampshire while awaiting the results of the Iowa caucus Reuters Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures Elizabeth Warren is presented with a balloon effigy of herself at a campaign event in Nashua, New Hampshire on 5 February Reuters Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures A Trump supporter rides past a rally for Amy Klobuchar in Des Moines, Iowa on 14 January AP Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures A man holds up a sign criticising billionaires in the presidential race in front of Michael Bloomberg in Compton, Califronia. The former New York mayor skipped the first caucus in Iowa and instead campaigned in California on 3 February Reuters

Mr Sanders, although he has run a campaign that has outraged and scared the establishment Democratic Party, appears poised for big wins in many of the 14 states that are heading to the polls in just three days.

But on Saturday, he congratulated Mr Biden for his performance in South Carolina.

“There are a lot of states in this country and nobody wins them all,” Mr Sanders said in Virginia, where he held one of two rallies on Saturday including an event in Massachusetts. “I want to congratulate Joe Biden on his victory tonight.”

Pete Buttigieg, who won the most delegates in the Iowa caucuses earlier this month, told supporters at a campaign event of his own that he is proud of the votes they earned in South Carolina, and promised to continue fighting in the days ahead.

“Running for president is an exercise in hope and humility and we have come down South filled with both,” he said. “I want to thank the voters of South Carolina, especially black voters who showed the famous Southern hospitality over the last year.”

Elizabeth Warren, who has had virtually no success so far in the primary season, told a crowd at a rally in Houston that she was already looking ahead to Super Tuesday, and did not plan on leaving the race anytime soon.

“We’re looking forward to gaining as many delegates to the convention as we can,” she said.

Tom Steyer, who had staked his whole candidacy on the hopes that he would perform well in South Carolina, dropped out shortly after the results came in. Amy Klobuchar and Tulsi Gabbard, both of whom are still running, received less than 5 per cent of the vote in South Carolina, together.

“There’s no question today that ... we were disappointed with where we came out,” Mr Steyer told supporters as he announced the end of his campaign. “But I said if I didn’t see a path to winning that I'd suspend my campaign, and honestly I can't see a path where I can win the presidency.”

If Mr Biden can now claim momentum heading into those contests, he still remains at a significant disadvantage. Compared to Mr Sanders and Michael Bloomberg — the billionaire former mayor of New York City who has spent a small fortune targeting Super Tuesday states — the former vice president has significantly fewer resources at his disposal, including much weaker finances and a lack of ground game in those states.

“We will have to sit down and get serious about how we retool this campaign,” said House majority whip Jim Clyburn, a powerful South Carolina democrat who endorsed Mr Biden just before the primary, during a CNN interview before results came in. He added that a win in South Carolina would mean “many of us around the country will be able to join with him and help him get it right.”

Even so, at least part of the difficulties facing Mr Biden appeared to ease in just the hour after the former vice president was announced the victor in South Carolina. His director of online financing, 48 minutes after the winner was announced, tweeted that the campaign had already had its best hour of fundraising of the entire campaign — an incoming wave of cash that was likely to continue over the next several hours before midnight, which is a campaign finance filing deadline.

As results continued to be compiled, Mr Biden's decisive win in South Carolina drew comparisons for him to past presidential candidates who had come back from long odds to win the nomination, and the presidency. Andrew Yang, a former 2020 candidate who is now a CNN contributor, called him the "comeback kid".

And, during his speech in South Carolina, Mr Biden became emotional and signalled that he would never forget the support he received in the state.