ORANGEBURG, South Carolina — Democratic presidential contender Sen. Bernard Sanders made a final plea Friday for young black voters to join his “political revolution” in hopes of an upset victory in the first-in-the-South primary.

“We need a political revolution. Are you guys ready to join in that revolution,” he said to cheers of affirmation from the crowd at Claflin University, a historic black university.

The roughly 300 people at the rally were enthusiastic about Mr. Sanders, but the reality of his long-shot campaign in the South Carolina primary Saturday hung over the event.

Mr. Sanders trails Hillary Clinton by more than 20 points in most polls, due to the former secretary of state’s overwhelming support with black voters, who make up about 55 percent of the Democratic electorate.

That’s why Mr. Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist from Vermont, spent most of the week campaigning outside South Carolina. He focused on multi-state contests that begin with Super Tuesday next week, when scores of delegates will be up for grabs and he will need a strong showing to remain competitive.

At the university, Mr. Sanders highlighted items from his far-left agenda that resonate with students and young voters, including free tuition at public colleges and universities, raising the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour and criminal justice reforms to keep drug offenders out of jail and stop police brutality in black communities.

He urged the students to stay involved in politics and work to change the country, despite friends who he said might ridicule them for getting involved.

He said the millionaires and billionaires wouldn’t lose any sleep worrying about whether the people at the rally suffered from crushing student debt or had to work for low wages.

“The only people who are going to make the change — the history of America, whether it is the workers rights movement, the civil rights movement, the women’s rights movement, the gay rights movement — it is always from the bottom up not the top down,” he said. “Welcome to the political revolution.”

Sign up for Daily Newsletters Manage Newsletters

Copyright © 2020 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.