ABC News February 29, 2020

2020 South Carolina primary election results

WATCH: Joe Biden makes comeback with victory in South Carolina

Based an analysis of the exit polls, ABC News projects Joe Biden as the winner of the South Carolina Democratic primary.

Saturday is a crucial day for the 2020 presidential candidates, as voters headed to the ballot box amid the state's primary -- and 54 delegates up for grabs.

Polls opened at 7 a.m. ET and closed at 7 p.m. ET, though if a voter was in line before the cutoff time, they were still able to cast their vote.

The Democratic candidates on the South Carolina ballot were: former Vice President Joe Biden; former South Bend, Indiana mayor Pete Buttigieg; Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard; Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar; Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders; businessman Tom Steyer and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

Republican officials in the Palmetto State voted in 2019 to cancel their nominating contest in 2020 virtually paving a smooth pathway to the nomination for President Donald Trump.

State Significance

South Carolina traditionally holds the first-in-the-South primaries for Republicans and Democrats. The last of the four early nominating contests, and also the most delegate-rich, is notable for its large proportion of black voters on the Democratic side. Nearly 30% of the population is African American. In 2016, 61% of the South Carolina's Democratic primary voters were black, according to exit polls.

Last presidential cycle, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton won in a landslide over Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, 74% to 26%. Then-candidate Donald Trump also clinched a victory in the 2016 Republican primary, with 32.5% of the vote.