South Carolina Poll: Bernie Sanders, Tom Steyer Cut Into Joe Biden’s Lead
According to the latest Change Research/Post and Courier poll of likely primary voters in South Carolina, cracks are appearing in former Vice President Joe Biden‘s firewall.
Biden leads in national polls largely thanks to the support he enjoys in the south — especially in the Palmetto State — but now it appears that Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and billionaire Tom Steyer are catching up to him. According to the poll, Biden is still in the lead with 25 percent of the vote, Sanders is in second place with 20 percent, and Steyer in third with 18 percent of the vote.
The only other candidate to make it into double-digit territory is Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who is polling at 11 percent. Former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg is in fourth place, polling at 7 percent. The fifth spot in the survey belongs to Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and entrepreneur Andrew Yang, both of whom are polling at 3 percent. Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar enjoys the support of 2 percent of South Carolinians.
As is the case across nearly all polls, Sanders has an advantage when it comes to young voters. Forty-three percent of those aged 18-34 support him. Biden is in second place, polling at 18 percent. Both Warren and Steyer are at 11 percent. Among voters 35- to 49-years-old, however, Steyer is in the lead with 26 percent of the vote. The billionaire is followed by Sanders and Warren, who are polling at 18 and 17 percent respectively, and Biden who is at 15 percent.
The situation is inverse among older voters. Among voters 50- to 64-years-old, Biden leads Steyer by 15 points. Similarly, when it comes to voters 65-years-old and older, Biden is way ahead of Steyer, with a 15 percentage points lead. This group has the largest number of undecided voters, however — 18 percent of those older than 65-years-old are still not sure who they will support in the Democratic primary.
As Post and Courier noted, “Biden’s lead in South Carolina has diminished because his support has fallen from a high of 46 percent in May.”
“His drop in S.C. support comes as the race becomes more focused with the field cut by more than half and the leading contenders consistently standing out in the early-voting states,” the publication wrote.
South Carolinians — especially those who are still undecided — are all but certain to be influenced by the outcome of other early state competitions. In Iowa, which caucuses on Monday, the field still seems very fluid, with Biden trailing Sanders by 7 percentage points.
