Democrats focus on black churches in key South Carolina primary

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. — By now, most Democratic presidential candidates have polished their stump speeches. But when they’re in South Carolina, they may need to add in a sermon.

In a large and diverse primary field, White House hopefuls are angling to develop relationships with black churches. That’s because success in South Carolina, home to the nation’s first Southern presidential primary, could come down to connecting with politically influential churchgoing African Americans.

“Candidates recognize that black churches are the places to be seen and heard,” said Bobby Donaldson, a professor of civil rights history at the University of South Carolina. “If you’re trying to find a captive and captivating audience, then the black church is the perfect place to get your message across.”

Some 2020 candidates are already working to build their relationships with this community. Sen. Kamala Harris of California will attend an Easter service Sunday in Columbia at a church whose pastor is a lawmaker who recently endorsed her campaign. She swung through a fellowship hall in North Charleston earlier this year and visited churches last fall to rally voters ahead of the midterms.

Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Bernie Sanders of Vermont attended a Martin Luther King Jr. Day event at a historic black church in Columbia, and both have held campaign events in fellowship halls at black churches around the state. In the past week, Sanders held a town hall in a black church in Spartanburg with members of the state’s Legislative Black Caucus.

Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro, former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and former Texas congressman Beto O’Rourke also have visited black churches. And in one of her visits to three Charleston-area black congregations in February, Sen....