Representative James Clyburn explains his expectations for Biden in South Carolina

Most Democrats in South Carolina have avoided making detailed public predictions about how the party's first primary will go Saturday after President Biden's all-but-certain victory.

But Rep. James Clyburn, the 83-year-old congressman whose 2020 endorsement helped propel President Biden to their party's nomination, set some goals and expectations in an interview Friday at Democratic Party headquarters in South Carolina.

“Seventy percent would be a success for me,” he said, leaning back in a chair with his feet up and referring to the share of the vote he hopes Mr. Biden earns.

Later, thinking about the South Carolina election, with much more heavily attended primaries and well-financed, highly anticipated candidates, Mr. Clyburn threw up a figure for desired turnout.

“I hope we get 150,000 people to vote, and of the 150 to 200,000 people, I would like to see Joe Biden get 70, 75 percent of those,” he said.

Since Democrats rearranged the primary calendar to put South Carolina first, a recognition of the role the state played in Mr. Biden's 2020 victory, Mr. Clyburn and other state and national party leaders have been working for weeks to get voters for a show. effective Saturday to strengthen Democrats heading into November.

Mr. Biden and other party surrogates have made policy pitches aimed at Black and rural voters during their visits to the state in recent weeks, highlighting the administration's efforts to reduce student debt and increase investment in historically Black colleges and universities , and they hope the messages will resonate beyond South Carolina. (Vice President Kamala Harris plans to hold an election rally Friday at South Carolina State University, a historically black institution in Orangeburg.)

It will be difficult to compare Biden's performance on Saturday with previous elections. He won about 260,000 Democratic votes in the state's 2020 primary, according to South Carolina election data, in a well-attended contest where black voters came out in full force to support him. This time he's running against two lesser-known Democrats, Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota and Marianne Williamson, a self-help author.

But Saturday's election could still serve as a test of how effective the party's message has been for those same voters — and of Mr. Biden's appeal to a constituency crucial to his reelection.

Mr. Clyburn blamed what he called the “MAGA wall” of Republican reporting for much of the trouble on that front so far, arguing that Democrats must defend institutions and freedoms at home and abroad , while the other party abdicates its responsibilities.

“The question is: whose responsibility is it to break that wall?” he said. “And say to the American people, 'Beware.'”