ATLANTA — Monday’s Martin Luther King Jr. holiday found leaders still wrestling over his contested legacy against the backdrop of a presidential election year.

Republicans told a sometimes cool crowd at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta that they were honoring King’s civil rights legacy of service and political empowerment.

But Democrats found more favor by highlighting the ways they said the current political and social order calls for more radical action in line with King’s principles.

Democratic presidential contenders gathered at a Baptist church in Columbia, South Carolina, on Monday and linked arms with each other and civil rights leaders in a march of tens of thousands to the Statehouse.

At Zion Baptist Church before the march, Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren engaged in the handshake that didn’t happen in the frosty aftermath of the last debate.

“This is THE handshake,” presidential contender Tulsi Gabbard said as Sanders and Warren reached across her to shake hands in the front row. They and rival Amy Klobuchar attended the service before they joined Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg and other contenders in the march to the Statehouse.

In last week’s debate, Warren and Sanders clashed over what was said during a private conversation about a woman’s chances of becoming president. Sanders extended his hand afterward, and Warren pulled back.

Now, in the closing days before the first votes are cast in the 2020 Democratic presidential contest, the party’s leading hopefuls are splitting their time between the critical early-voting states of South Carolina and Iowa at events celebrating King.

The march brought together more candidates than engaged in the last two debates. They arrived at the Statehouse as King’s iconic “I have a dream” speech played over loudspeakers.

While Iowa and New Hampshire Democrats vote first for their nominee, South Carolina’s first-in-the-South primary is a crucial proving ground for a candidate’s mettle with black voters. The state’s showcase holiday celebration, Columbia’s King Day at the Dome, is a notable event for Democratic politicians.

Biden has a strong lead in South Carolina polls and is widely favored among black voters.

Up for reelection this year, President Donald Trump sought to stamp his own mark on the commemoration. He and Vice President Mike Pence made a brief visit to the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington. Earlier in the day he sent a tweet noting that it was the third anniversary of his inauguration. “So appropriate that today is also MLK jr DAY. African-American Unemployment is the LOWEST in the history of our Country, by far. Also, best Poverty, Youth, and Employment numbers, ever. Great!”

Black unemployment has reached a record low during the Trump administration, but many economists note economic growth since 2009 has driven hiring. The most dramatic drop in black unemployment came under President Barack Obama. Despite economic success, polls find most African American voters regard Trump with distaste.

After the South Carolina events, most of the candidates planned to fly to Iowa to attend the 2020 Iowa Brown & Black Democratic Presidential Forum later Monday.

At a breakfast honoring King in Washington, D.C., former President Bill Clinton delivered a message casting the diversity of the United States as one of the country’s biggest strengths. But he also noted that a diverse nation functions well only if everyone follows “the same set of rules,” making an oblique nod to Trump as well as Republican efforts to make it harder for some communities of color to cast their ballots.

“There are 15 issues we should be fighting about but at the core is universal easy access to vote where the votes count,” he said. “And a vigorous attempt to stop foreign influence.”

In Atlanta, King’s daughter Bernice spoke about the King holiday becoming a day of service, “a day on, not a day off.” She said the holiday needs a broader vision.

“A day on is not enough. What we need is a light on, committed to working vigilantly to build the beloved community,” she said. “A light on encompasses a commitment not just to service but to systemic change as well.”

The same kind of wrestling over what King means in the present moment was taking place elsewhere, with Pence speaking Sunday at a church service in Memphis, Tennessee.

Pence spoke at the Holy City Church of God in Christ about King’s religion and how he “challenged the conscience of a nation to live up to our highest ideals by speaking to our common foundation of faith.“

Pence said that if Americans rededicate themselves to the ideals that King advanced while striving to open opportunities for everyone, “we’ll see our way through these divided times and we’ll do our part in our time to form a more perfect union.”

The New York Times contributed.