COLUMBIA, S.C. — Joe Biden's refusal to back down from statements of nostalgia about working with segregationist senators is potentially threatening support of African Americans voters in South Carolina, the first 2020 nominating contest in which black voters make up a majority of the electorate.

Ahead of a slew of Democratic events this weekend, including House Majority Whip James Clyburn's fish fry Friday night and the party's convention on Saturday, Biden's three days of explanations about the segregationist remarks are exposing a potential crack in his ability to maintain a constituency that has helped propel him to front-runner status in the polls.

“If he doesn’t apologize, it’s because he’s taking us for granted. That’s not going to play well,” Michael Bailey, a spokesman for the Democratic Black Caucus of South Carolina, told the Washington Examiner.

Such criticism comes after Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, an African American vying for the Democratic nomination, issued a sharp rebuke and called on Biden to apologize. Biden said Booker instead should apologize. Another 2020 hopeful, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, whose wife and children are black, also pilloried Biden.

But those sentiments hardly extend to the bulk of South Carolina African Americans active in Democratic politics, ahead of the Feb. 29, 2020, primary. Clyburn, the highest-ranking black lawmaker in Congress, has defended Biden, raising his longtime working relationship with the late South Carolina Republican Sen. Strom Thurmond, arguably the leading segregationist of his era.

Democratic state Rep. Jerry Govan Jr., the chairman of the South Carolina Legislative Black Caucus, believes the controversy has been blown out of proportion by the media and Biden’s opponents.

“This is a political year, so I think the reaction to it was certainly not the way I would have interpreted it,” he told the Washington Examiner. “I don’t really see anything that he does need to apologize for. His record on civil rights speaks for itself. I’ve been around him. He’s never said anything offensive, that I’ve found offensive, toward African Americans. I’ve known Joe Biden well over 20, 30 years. Maybe there’s something out there, but I’ve never heard anything.”

Both Bailey and Govan caution that Biden, 76, has not been as active in South Carolina as other candidates. When he has been in the state, the former vice president has opted to visit churches and meet with political leaders and has thus far ignored grassroots groups and younger voters, Bailey said.

In the latest Post and Courier poll of likely South Carolina Democratic voters, Biden holds a commanding statewide lead, with 37%, to 17% for Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and 11% for South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg.

But his support among black voters dropped by 6% in June compared with May’s poll.

That may have something to do with Biden's longevity in politics, Bailey said. Having run for president twice before, he's been visiting South Carolina for decades. And that may be a liability rather than an asset, Bailey said.

The poll shows Biden leading among all age groups except with voters ages 18 to 34. Those who favored Biden said they liked him because of his association with his former boss, President Barack Obama, and for a willingness to stand up to President Trump. Voters who supported other candidates cited Biden’s age and said he wasn’t liberal enough.

“Biden is old-school,” Bailey said. “Our values have changed. The Democratic Party is totally different. The Democratic voters are not your Democratic voters from Biden’s era. When you’ve worked in Congress as long as Biden, at the level that Biden’s on, you’re walled off from the grassroots. He’s going to have to reengage with the community to understand the Democrats that he wants support from.”

Govan, who declined to say who he’ll be supporting in the primary, expects Biden’s footprint in the state will expand as the race carries on, noting that Biden announced his candidacy later than his rivals and already has name recognition.

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