Joe Biden in South Carolina: Democratic presidential bid gets restart or makes final stand

Former Vice President Joe Biden did one of two things Tuesday. He either restarted his run toward the Democratic nomination, or the one-time front-runner took his final stand.

Only time will tell. 

Either way, Biden made this move with a speech in Columbia, South Carolina, on an evening when he was originally slated to be about 1,000 miles north, celebrating New Hampshire primary results in a Nashua hotel. 

He left New Hampshire before the polls closed.

Just hours earlier, his campaign suddenly announced Biden and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, would instead launch his effort South Carolina. He's consistently led the polls in the Palmetto State, but the state won't host a primary until Feb. 29.

And a lot can happen in 18 days.

SC Democratic Primary:South Carolina's black voters are a powerful block. And some just want Trump gone.

A lot can change in just an hour, too. While his supporters waited for Biden to take the podium, entrepreneur Andrew Yang ended his quest for the presidency. Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet dropped out, too.

Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar was on pace to finish a strong third, a big leap since the Iowa Democratic caucuses last week.

Biden finished fifth in New Hampshire after a disappointing fourth-place finish in the Iowa. Bernie Sanders won New Hampshire’s Democratic primary Tuesday, edging Pete Buttigieg, according to projections by media outlets. Sen. Elizabeth Warren finished fourth, with one percentage point more votes than Biden.

"Tonight, we've just heard from the first two of 50 states," Biden told the cheering Columbia crowd. "Two of them. Not all of the nation, not half of the nation, not a quarter of the nation, not 10% — two."

Less than 1% of the pledged delegates to the national convention were at stake in New Hampshire. Nominees need 1,990 to win. The first two states in the primary election cycle, however, typically winnow the field and propel front-runners.

For Biden, the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary are "the opening bell, not the closing bell."

"The fight to end Donald Trump's presidency is just beginning," Biden said. 

Biden is pinning his hope on the diverse voting communities in the next two primaries: Nevada on Feb. 22 and South Carolina on Feb. 29. The electorate in Iowa and New Hampshire is disproportionately white. 

“Up until now, we haven’t heard from the most committed constituency in the Democratic Party, the African American community. And the fastest-growing segment of society, the Latino community,” he said. “So to hear all these pundits and experts, all these cable TV talkers talk about the race, tell them, ‘It ain’t over, man. We’re just getting started. Our votes count, too.'”

But maybe there was one other reason that the Bidens came to South Carolina Tuesday. Dr. Jill Biden said it in her her opening remarks as she praised the state's warmth and kindness.

South Carolina is where the couple came to find peace after the death of their son, Beau, Jill said. 

"You helped us heal," she said.

- USA Today contributed to this report.