Joe Biden To Skip New Hampshire Primary-Night Party, Despite Being ‘Mildly Hopeful’ About His Chances There

Though the results of Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary are already trickling in, former Vice President Joe Biden isn’t waiting around to find out its conclusion. Instead, the 77-year-old has decided to make his way to South Carolina, where the state will be holding its own primary later this month, according to CNN.

The decision means that the former Delaware lawmaker is bailing last minute on his primary-night party, planned in the small town of Nashua, New Hampshire. Many believe that a large part of Biden’s decision to leave the state is because of his anticipated loss, as his opponent Bernie Sanders holds a commanding lead in the Granite State.

As was previously reported by The Inquisitr, the Vermont senator can currently boast support for his platform from a whopping 30 percent. Behind him trails former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, at 20 percent. Biden is reported to be hovering around 12 percent.

Nevertheless, the former Delaware senator says that he remains optimistic about tonight’s results.

“We’re still mildly hopeful here in New Hampshire,” he said. “And we’ll see what happens.”

Biden pointed out that there were still “significant portions of the electorate who haven’t voted yet,” citing it as the reason he wanted to hit the road once more.

South Carolina’s primary is set for February 29, giving the former vice president over two weeks to reach voters in the state. Though Biden currently holds a sizable lead at 28 percent, it remains to be seen how the New Hampshire primary results — as well as the February 22 Nevada ones — will affect the polls. He will no doubt want to preserve his state frontrunner status despite a potential Sanders win. The Vermont senator is currently at 17.4 percent in South Carolina, according to Five Thirty Eight.

It is also a state that has a higher percentage of minority voters — specifically African Americans — than Iowa and New Hampshire. Biden, who served in the administration of former President Barack Obama, currently leads as the favorite Democratic candidate among black voters.

Some politicos have claimed that heading to South Carolina is also a smart move in terms of public relations. Dana Perino, a conservative political commentator, pointed out that it shifts media focus from any poor showing tonight.

“They’re kind of smart to get him out of town today because even though it looks like he’s throwing in the towel, if he stayed, every question from the media will be ‘Are you going to quit?'” she explained, via Fox News.

“And now he has a ready-made answer: ‘I’m not quitting. We’re on our way to South Carolina. Bernie can have his week. We’re going to live to fight another day,” she concluded.