Former Vice President Joe Biden easily leads the Democratic field ahead of the South Carolina primary, a crucial contest that could help decide who gets the nomination.
According to a new Monmouth poll released Thursday, Biden holds a significant lead of 36% support among likely Democratic voters, with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders behind with 16%. Billionaire Tom Steyer holds third place, narrowly behind Sanders with 15%. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren comes in fourth with 8%, former South Bend, Indiana, mayor follows at 6%, and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar places in fifth with 4% support.
The poll echoes a growing RealClearPolitics average favoring Biden, which previously showed increasing momentum for the Sanders campaign and declining support for Biden in the state.
Black voters, which constitute a significant portion of likely Democratic voters, by and large favor Biden, with 45% supportive of the former vice president. Steyer follows with 17%, and Sanders places third at 13%. The former vice president also holds a small lead among white voters with 26% support, while Sanders follows with 17%. However, only 4 out of 10 likely Democratic voters have definitively decided on their preferred candidate.
Biden has seen disappointing results thus far in the Iowa, New Hampshire, and Nevada Democratic contests. Alan Patricof, a Biden donor and venture capitalist, warned earlier this month that the 36-year Delaware senator and two-term vice president needed to perform well in Nevada and South Carolina in order to maintain fundraisers’ confidence.
“Everybody’s sticking with Joe until they see what happens there,” he said, referring to the Feb. 29 South Carolina primary.
Voters in South Carolina also expressed an interest in supporting former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, even though the billionaire presidential contender is not on the ballot.
