Joe Biden won a crushing victory last night in South Carolina, proving that he has the legs to go the distance. He garnered 48% of the vote to Bernie Sanders’ 20%. No other candidate reached the 15% mark needed to collect delegates. The race is now a two-person contest with three people in it. 

None of the rest of the field except Bloomberg will have the resources to last past Tuesday. Tom Steyer dropped out last night. With Super Tuesday just two days away, I don’t anticipate anyone else leaving, but I can’t see them getting much benefit, either. Warren and Klobuchar each have primaries in their home states so they may be able to pick up some delegates, but that’s about it. 

The race is Biden versus Bernie Sanders and Mike Bloomberg. Since his entry into the race, Bloomberg has been cannibalizing Biden’s support. Sander’s certainly got a bump in the wake of Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada, but Biden’s lead went to Bloomberg, not other candidates. By mid-February, Biden’s support had dropped to below 20% and Bloomberg had climbed to the upper teens. Sanders saw an uptick of about 10 points while nobody else saw dramatic changes, though Buttigieg did reach double digits.

In South Carolina last week, Biden seemed to regain his footing. He was making traction when South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn endorsed him, solidifying his support among black voters and launching Biden toward his staggering victory. Clyburn showed that this year, endorsements matter. 

Other elected officials noticed. In Virginia, Sen. Tim Kaine came out for Biden on Friday. Last night, former Governor Terry McAuliffe and U.S. Representative Bobby Scott endorsed the former vice president. In Florida, former DNC Chair and Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz threw her support behind Biden and, in Arkansas, former U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln joined suit. They understand what’s at stake. 

It’s time for the rest of the Democratic establishment to rally around the last viable Democrat. Sanders has eschewed the Democratic Party his entire career. Bloomberg is of the party of billionaires, people who use whatever party is available to advance their own agendas. Biden has fought hard for Democrats for decades. 

In North Carolina, Biden holds a narrow lead over Sanders. Bloomberg has eaten into his margin substantially. He’s the only thing separating Biden from a double-digit victory in North Carolina. The entire Democratic Congressional delegation in the state has endorsed Joe Biden. Democrats who haven’t endorsed should do so now. 

The Democratic elected officials who have endorsed Bloomberg need to rescind their support and throw it to Biden. Here’s your statement. “While we believed Mike Bloomberg’s impressive infrastructure would help defeat Donald Trump in November, Joe Biden’s victory in South Carolina clearly shows that he’s the best candidate to unite our party and lead us to victory this fall. We appreciate Mayor Bloomberg’s support in taking on Donald Trump and hope he’ll continue his effort but it’s time to support Joe Biden for President.”

Biden’s victory is more momentous because of the deluge of bad press he got following Iowa and New Hampshire. That he could weather the storm and win by a margin as large as he did in South Carolina shows he’s got a campaign that can go the distance. At this point, his gaffes, exaggerations and political incorrectness are baked in and won’t hurt him. He also matches up well with Trump. He’ll be the happy warrior full of compassion and empathy while Trump is the angry man-child hurling insults and lies. The country is ready for stability and Joe Biden is the only one left who brings it.