The former national political director for the Democratic National Committee, Raul Alvillar, said on Friday that it’s imperative that former Vice President Joe Biden take second place in Saturday’s Nevada caucuses.
“He has to [place second in Nevada]. That sets him up perfectly for going into South Carolina,” Alvillar told Hill.TV.
“Then he can say I did really well with the Latino vote too going into Super Tuesday, going into Texas and California, which are the two biggest delegate-rich states and huge minority population in both of those states,” Alvillar added.
Biden has had a disappointing Democratic primary season so far, finishing fourth in Iowa and fifth in New Hampshire. However, the latest KLAS-TV/Emerson poll shows that a second place finish for Biden on Saturday is possible. While Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) polled first at 30 percent in the survey, Biden polled third at 16 percent, just one percentage point behind former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg.
Polls still show Biden with a lead in South Carolina, albeit a much smaller lead than what he’d had for months. As recently as January, Biden had a double-digit lead in the Palmetto State. However, a recent Winthrop poll showed the Vermont senator gaining ground, with Biden holding only a five-point lead over Sanders.
Sanders also seems to be shrinking the lead that Biden had with black voters, which has hurt him in South Carolina. The majority of the electorate in the state is black.
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