Biden holds wide lead in SC, tied with Sanders and Warren in Nevada: poll

Former Vice President Joe Biden holds a wide lead atop the 2020 Democratic presidential field in South Carolina but is in a dead heat with Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) in Nevada, according to new polling from CNN.

Biden has the support of 37 percent of respondents in South Carolina, compared to 16 percent for Warren and 11 percent for Sanders. In Nevada, Biden and Sanders are tied at 22 percent while Warren is at 18 percent, a difference within the poll’s margin of error. No other candidate in the crowded Democratic field breaks double-digits in either poll.

{mosads}Forty-five percent of black voters in South Carolina, the first primary state where African Americans make up a large percentage of the electorate, back Biden. Biden and Warren are in a statistical dead heat among white voters, with 29 percent and 28 percent, respectively, pollsters found.

Most voters in both states indicated their minds are not yet made up, with 44 percent in Nevada and 45 percent in South Carolina saying they have fully made up their minds on their choice of candidate. Thirty-eight percent in both states say they could change their mind, and 17 percent in South Carolina and 18 percent in Nevada indicate they have no preference yet.

Forty-eight percent of South Carolina voters said they would be enthusiastic about Biden as the party nominee, compared to 35 percent who said they would be enthusiastic about Warren and 23 percent for Sanders and Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.).

Forty-seven percent of Nevada voters said they would be enthusiastic about Sanders as nominee, compared to 44 percent for Biden and 42 percent for Warren. Twenty-two percent each said they would be enthusiastic about Harris or South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg as the nominee.

The South Carolina poll was conducted among 1,200 respondents, 420 by landline and 780 by cell phone. It has a margin of error of 3.4 points. The Nevada poll involved 1,203 respondents, 424 landline users and 779 cell phone users, and has a 3.6-point margin of error. Both were conducted Sept. 22 to 26.