The remaining Democratic presidential candidates are meeting again, but Hillary Clinton is their clear leader.
Going into Friday’s Democratic presidential forum in South Carolina, Clinton leads Bernie Sanders in the Palmetto State by 56 points and Martin O’Malley by 69 points, according to a Winthrop University poll released prior to the event.
With 71 percent of the vote among South Carolina Democrats, Clinton has the clear advantage in Friday’s forum. Her support is even greater among the African-American community, where she polls at over 80 percent.
“African-Americans can make up over 50% of the Democratic presidential primary vote in South Carolina, which is a much larger portion than you’ll see in the Iowa Caucus or New Hampshire primary,” the Winthrop polling director, Scott Huffmon, said in a statement.
Clinton has spent the past weeks appealing to the Southern African-American community, speaking to Black Lives Matter activists at an African-Americans for Hillary gathering in Atlanta last week and speaking out about racial issues in an Ebony op-ed this Friday morning. She lost the South Carolina primary, and ultimately the nomination, when Barack Obama trounced her among black voters.
The former secretary of state can thank Vice President Joe Biden for the size of her South Carolina lead. Among her supporters, 34 percent said they would have backed Biden if he were to have entered the race. Forty-six percent of Sanders voters said the same.
Only 2 percent of voters in the state support former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley as he struggles with name recognition in the state: 54 percent of voters have never heard of him.
The forum Friday night, which will be moderated by MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, is an attempt to satisfy Democrats who don’t think the national committee has scheduled enough debates. While the DNC refused to add more debates to the calendar, the party allowed the forum, to be hosted by the South Carolina Democratic Party.
