Poll: Clinton holds large SC lead over Sanders

Hillary Clinton holds a commanding lead in the S.C. Democratic presidential primary, according to the first poll released in nearly a week.

The former secretary of state leads U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent, by a margin of 64 percent to 14 percent among likely voters who have cast ballots in two of the last three statewide primaries, according to Clemson University’s Palmetto Poll.

The poll, taken between Saturday and Thursday, found 22 percent of voters were undecided ahead of the primary Saturday.

Clinton, who has won two of the first three races, leads Sanders by 24 percentage points, according to an average of recent S.C. polls. She dominates among African-American voters, who make up a majority of S.C. Democratic voters.

Sanders has spent much of the week outside South Carolina, in states holding primaries in March. His pollster has acknowledged the margin in South Carolina is “not going to be that close.” However, Sanders has said he has not given up on South Carolina.

This story was originally published February 25, 2016 at 1:51 PM with the headline "Poll: Clinton holds large SC lead over Sanders."