Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg took a break from the campaign trail to attend church in South Carolina on Sunday as they search for answers to slow rival Bernie Sanders’ growing lead in the 2020 presidential race.
Biden broke bread with parishioners at Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston, while Buttigieg attended a service at First Baptist Church of James Island a few miles to the south in Charleston proper.
The candidates’ pause for prayer came as they are projected to take home second and third place respectively in Nevada’s primary on Saturday, trailing well behind Vermont Senator Sanders.
Joe Biden (left) and Pete Buttigieg (right) took a break from the campaign trail to attend church in South Carolina on Sunday as they search for answers to slow rival Bernie Sanders’ growing lead in the 2020 presidential race
Biden made an appearance at Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston
The former vice president was joined by his wife Jill (left) and granddaughter Finnegan (center)
Biden happily greeted fellow worshippers at the church in North Charleston
Biden and Buttigieg appeared in high spirits as they attended church services just 24 miles apart in Charleston.
The former vice president sat alongside his wife Jill and granddaughter Finnegan and briefly spoke from the pulpit during the service at Royal Missionary Baptist Church.
After the service concluded he was seen greeting parishioners with a wide grin spread across his face.
Meanwhile, Buttigieg was just 24 miles south at First Baptist Church of James Island.
The former South Bend, Indiana mayor was joined by Ryann Richardson, the reigning Miss Black America.
Both moderates are in the state lobbying for last minute votes ahead of South Carolina’s primary on February 29, which they hope will breathe new life into their campaigns following tough losses to Bernie Sanders on Saturday in Nevada.
Meanwhile, former South Bend, Indiana mayor Pete Buttigieg attended a service at First Baptist Church of James Island 24 miles away in Charleston proper
Buttigieg is seen giving a sermon at First Baptist Church of James Island on Sunday
Buttigieg attended the service with Ryann Richardson (right), the reigning Miss Black America
While his rivals were in church, Bernie Sanders held a rally in Houston, Texas (pictured)
With 60 percent of Nevada precincts reporting as of Sunday afternoon, Sanders is leading the pack with 46 percent of the vote, followed far behind by Biden at 19.6 percent and Buttigieg at 15.3 percent.
Senators Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar trailed at 10.1 percent and 4.8 percent respectively.
Sanders’ landslide victory injected a wave of momentum into his campaign.
While his fellow contenders were in church, Sanders held a rally in Houston, Texas, on Sunday and projected himself a winner in that state and in November’s general election.
Referring to supporters of President Donald Trump, Sanders told a cheering crowd at University of Houston: ‘Don’t tell anybody because these folks get very agitated and nervous’ before continuing, ‘We are going to win here.’
Sanders meant during the primary’s ‘Super Tuesday’ on March 3, but also said ‘in November we’re going to defeat Trump here.’
Sanders celebrated his landslide victory in Nevada during his rally at University of Houston on Sunday morning
The Vermont senator projected that he would win the upcoming Texas primary as well as November’s general election
Before voters in Texas and 13 other states head to the polls on Super Tuesday, South Carolinians will cast their ballots on the last day of February.
Biden’s once-strong prospects had faded sharply for weeks, but he said Saturday that he felt ‘really good’ about his second-place showing in Nevada and shouldn’t be counted out.
His team is banking on a strong showing in South Carolina, where Biden has enjoyed support among a majority-black Democratic electorate.
But after Sanders came in virtually tied for first in Iowa and then won in New Hampshire, his undeniable victory in Nevada places him squarely in the driver’s seat, at least for now.
He leads national polls by an 11 point margin over Biden and by 13 points over Mike Bloomberg, the former New York mayor who skipped the early voting states to focus on Super Tuesday.
Buttigieg’s campaign has questioned his third-place finish in Nevada’s caucuses and called for the state’s Democratic party to release a more detailed breakdown of votes. Buttigieg is seen speaking at a campaign rally late Saturday night
Buttigieg’s campaign has questioned his third-place finish in Nevada’s caucuses and called for the state’s Democratic party to release a more detailed breakdown of votes and address reports of more than 200 problems allocating votes in Saturday’s caucuses.
In a letter sent to the state party late Saturday night and provided to The Associated Press on Sunday, the Buttigieg campaign said the process of integrating four days of early voting into in-person caucuses held Saturday was ‘plagued with errors and inconsistencies’.
The campaign also said it received reports that volunteers running caucuses did not appear to follow rules that could have allowed candidates to pick up more support on a second round of voting.
‘Currently our data shows that this is a razor-thin margin for second place in Nevada, and due to irregularities and a number of unresolved questions we have raised with the Nevada Democratic Party, it’s unclear what the final results will be,’ Buttigieg´s deputy campaign manager Hari Sevugan said in a statement.
But the Nevada State Democratic Party is suggesting that Buttigieg’s campaign seek a recount if it wants to challenge results.