Obama Called Biden to Congratulate Him on South Carolina Win

(Bloomberg) -- Former President Barack Obama called Joe Biden to congratulate him on his victory in the South Carolina Democratic primary on Saturday night, a person familiar with the call said Sunday.

Biden won overwhelmingly in South Carolina with 48.4% of the vote. Bernie Sanders was a distant second with 19.9%. Biden got a boost from his status as Obama's vice president, winning 61% of the black vote in a state where more than half of the electorate is African American.

Obama has said that he will not endorse a candidate in the Democratic primary, leaving the choice of the party's nominee to the voters. On the campaign trail, Biden frequently invokes his friendship with Obama and the work they did together in the White House.

Two people familiar with the former president's thinking say he still doesn't plan to make an endorsement early in the nominating process. They're skeptical an endorsement from the former president would shake up the race and believe it could even backfire. The aides see Obama's most valuable role as uniting the party to defeat Donald Trump once a nominee is picked.

News of the phone call may further cement the tie between Obama and Biden, even if the former president doesn't explicitly endorse his former running mate.

(Disclaimer: Michael Bloomberg is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination. He is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News.)

To contact the reporter on this story: Jennifer Epstein in Charleston, South Carolina at jepstein32@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Wendy Benjaminson at wbenjaminson@bloomberg.net, Max Berley

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