SC remains Biden stronghold as former VP sees dip in early voting state polls
Former Vice President Joe Biden continues to lead the 2020 Democratic field in South Carolina, despite being unseated as the front-runner in recent Iowa and New Hampshire polls, according to three new surveys of likely S.C. Democratic primary voters.
According to a Quinnipiac University poll released Monday, Biden enjoyed support from 33% of likely S.C. Democratic primary voters. Also in that poll, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, of Massachusetts, finished second among S.C. Democrats with 18% support, while U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, of Vermont, trailed in third place with 11% support.
Another poll of likely Democratic primary voters in the state, released by CBS News and YouGov over the weekend, and a University of North Florida poll released Monday gave the former vice president 28- and 26-point leads in the Palmetto State, respectively. The CBS poll gave Biden — with 45% support — his highest numbers in South Carolina since May.
Pollsters for CBS asked S.C. Democrats who didn’t pick Biden as their first choice what he would need to do to clinch their vote. Almost half of those voters said they would need to be convinced that Biden could defeat President Donald Trump.
Forty percent of likely Biden voters polled by Quinnipiac said being able to win next November was the most important quality they sought in their favored candidate.
About half of the Democratic voters questioned in the University of North Florida poll also stressed that the candidate they preferred was based on the candidate they believe could beat Trump.
Pollsters examined 2020 hopefuls’ support from South Carolina’s powerful block of African American voters, whose ballots are essential to clinching a win in the Palmetto State.
Biden continued to hold a commanding lead among black voters: about 44% in the University of North Florida poll as Warren and businessman Tom Steyer tied for the second most support, with 10% each.
In the Quinnipiac poll, Biden received 44% of black voters’ support, outpacing Sanders, his nearest rival, by more than 30 percentage points.
Still, 20% of black voters contacted for the Quinnipiac poll remained undecided.
Biden’s status as the 2020 Democratic front-runner has been in question as his opponents gain traction in other early voting states.
In a recently released CNN poll, Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, clinched the most support among Iowa Democrats. A CBS and YouGov poll of New Hampshire voters showed Warren in the lead.
This story was originally published November 18, 2019 at 4:06 PM.
