With less than 48 hours until the polls open on Saturday for the South Carolina Primary, several of the top candidates in the Democratic Party race on Thursday decided to leave the Palmetto State behind, and jump ahead to some of the 14 states which vote on Super Tuesday.
Bernie Sanders was hitting two Super Tuesday states on Thursday, holding a late morning rally in Winston Salem, North Carolina, before going on to Richmond, Virginia, two states which vote next week.
Sanders finishes Thursday with a rally at Wofford College in Spartanburg.
Unlike the past few days on the stump in South Carolina, where Sanders has thrown elbows at Michael Bloomberg and Joe Biden, Sanders in North Carolina instead focused his ire on President Donald Trump.
"I believe that Donald Trump is a hoax," Sanders said, criticizing the President for his views on climate change.
Along with Sanders, Elizabeth Warren was also taking a day off from the Palmetto State, as she had a rally in San Antonio.
Part of Super Tuesday, Texas has not attracted a great deal of campaign attention until now, even though 228 delegates are at stake in the Lone Star State - more than the 155 delegates awarded from the first four contests combined in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina.
While both Warren and Sanders were going to return to South Carolina, the calculus was a bit different for Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), who has now wrapped up her campaign in South Carolina, and moved on to Super Tuesday states.
The Minnesota Democrat started her Thursday with a voting rights roundtable in Greensboro, North Carolina.
"As much as maybe the debates may have seemed like slugfests, I want to you to remember what an exciting time this is in our politics," Klobuchar said.
“Call your friends, tell them what you heard today,” Klobuchar said at a second event in the Tar Heel State.
“It is not about the biggest bank account,” Klobuchar said of the campaign. “That's been shown time and time again.”
Klobuchar will campaign Friday and Saturday in North Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee - all three states are on the docket for Super Tuesday.
While Klobuchar, Warren, and Sanders spent time outside South Carolina, Tom Steyer, Joe Biden, and Pete Buttigieg were still doing campaign events in the Palmetto State on Thursday.
The latest poll from Monmouth University showed a growing lead for Biden.
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