A brass section welcomes Joe Biden supporters in the gymnasium of Tougaloo College, north of Jackson, the capital of Mississippi. Groans of trumpet, glissando of trombone, the public already installed in the stands pitched joyfully, Sunday March 8. The former vice president still can't keep up with his opponent Bernie Sanders when it comes to gathering crowds. But after a streak of stellar victories, his audiences have grown considerably when compared in retrospect to the very modest halls he spoke to in New Hampshire in early February.
At the time, his third presidential nomination, after those of 1988 and 2008, seemed already compromised and a good number of those who came to listen to him did not hide their intention to support someone other than him. Those days are over for the moment. Alisa Butler, who came with the family, displays an unshakable confidence in her candidate. Joe Biden's age does not put her off for a moment, says this African-American, "My mother is practically the same and I can assure her that she is active and knows what she is talking about".
Peggy Hampton says today "Reassured"because it regards the November presidential election as "One of the most important" of his life, because of the presence in the White House of Donald Trump. "I was worried because I don't see how you can win with Bernie Sanders. "
After Joe Biden's setbacks in Iowa and New Hampshire, she set out to find an alternative, even considering supporting billionaire Michael Bloomberg. The triumph of the former vice president in South Carolina was for her "Relief". "I found him very presidential" during the preceding debate, on February 25. Peggy Hampton has therefore returned to his first choice. "What I like about Joe Biden is his character", she assures. The age of the seventies does not frighten him more than Alisa Butler: "In his case, it comes with a lot of experience. "
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Julie and Paul Parish were tempted by the renewal at the start of the Democratic primary. Julie first chose Kamala Harris, the African American senator from California, who dropped out in December. "If Sanders is our candidate in November, I will of course vote for him, but this is the only scenario in which I can imagine doing so", assures the young woman. Paul turned to Pete Buttigieg, seduced by "His intelligence and his personal history" first openly gay candidate in the Democratic Party.
