Biden tops Democratic field by 19 points in new South Carolina poll

Former Vice President Joe Biden tops the field of Democratic presidential candidates in South Carolina, carrying a double-digit lead over his closest rival, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), according to a new poll of Democratic voters in the Palmetto State.

The survey, from The Post and Courier newspaper in Charleston and Change Research, showed Biden registered 36 percent support among South Carolina Democratic voters polled. That’s more than twice the support for Warren, who came in at 17 percent.

{mosads}Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), meanwhile, is statistically tied with Warren, taking 16 percent in the poll. Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg round out the top five with 12 percent and 5 percent, respectively.

Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) are the only other candidates to score more than 1 percent in the poll, notching 4 percent and 2 percent, respectively. 

The poll suggests that, despite recent gaffes and questions about his decades-long political record, Biden maintains outsize support in South Carolina, one of the most crucial early primary states, especially given that it’s the first in which black voters make up a majority of the Democratic electorate.

What’s more, Biden’s support remains virtually unchanged from the last Post and Courier/Change Research poll of South Carolina Democrats in June. That survey showed him with 37 percent support. He still carries a plurality of support among black voters — 45 percent — but that’s a 7-point drop from the previous survey.

Likewise, Warren’s support remained static between the two at 17 percent.

It was Sanders, however, that picked up the most support over the past two months, rising 7 points between June and August. Harris also gained some ground, ticking up from 9 percent to 12 percent over the two-month span.

Buttigieg, however, saw a dropoff in South Carolina. He fell from 11 points in June to 5 points in August, according to the poll.

The Post and Courier/Change Research poll surveyed 521 self-identified Democratic primary voters from Aug. 9-12. It has a margin of error 4.3 percentage points.