Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is gaining ground on Joe Biden (D) in South Carolina, falling just two points behind the former vice president, which puts the two in a statistical dead heat, a UMass Lowell poll released on Wednesday revealed.
The survey, taken February 12-18, 2020, among 400 South Carolina voters likely to participate in the state’s February 29 primary contest, showed Biden holding a narrow lead over Sanders, 23 percent to the Vermont senator’s 21 percent. The margin of error of +/- 7.5 percent puts Biden’s lead within the statistical error, indicating a dead heat between the two in the Palmetto State.
The poll showed Tom Steyer (D), who did not make Wednesday’s debate stage in Nevada, in a distant third with 13 percent support. Both Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Pete Buttigieg (D) followed with 11 percent support each. No other candidate saw double-digit support, with Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) garnering nine percent support and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) seeing four percent support:
While Biden has long maintained a significant lead in South Carolina, recent polls show him quickly losing his solid frontrunner status in the state. An East Carolina University poll released last week told a similar story, with Sanders falling eight points behind Biden:
The UMass Lowell poll shows Biden continuing to hold his solid support among black voters in the state, with 43 percent support. However, across the board, the 28 respondents believe Sanders will ultimately take the Democrat nomination, compared to 22 percent who believe Biden will seal it:
Additionally, 41 percent of South Carolina Democrats believe Biden holds the best chance of defeating President Trump in the general election, compared to 30 percent who chose Sanders:
“Perhaps the most remarkable thing about this poll is that it’s as if South Carolina voters were unmoved by the results of Iowa and New Hampshire, where Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren all won delegates,” Joshua Dyck, director of the UMass Lowell Center for Public Opinion, said according to the poll’s release.
“In South Carolina, none of them poll higher than 11 percent, behind Biden, Sanders and Steyer,” he noted, adding that “the internals of this poll look better for Joe Biden than the actual horserace numbers.”
“South Carolina Democrats see him as the candidate who best represents the Obama legacy and head to head with Sen. Sanders, they prefer his policy positions and see him as most likely to beat Donald Trump in a general election,” Dyck explained.
“With just 10 days to go, Biden needs to hold this lead and prove he can win if he wants to make a play on Super Tuesday,” he added.