Joe Biden leads crowded Democratic field by 20 points in new South Carolina poll
WASHINGTON – A new Quinnipiac University poll out of South Carolina has former Vice President Joe Biden leading the pack of 2020 Democratic contenders by 20 points.
Biden commanded the field at 33%, with Sens. Elizabeth Warren earning 13% and Bernie Sanders holding at 11%.
South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg received 6%, with businessmen Tom Steyer following at 5% and Andrew Yang at 4%. Sens. Kamala Harris received 3% and Cory Booker earned 2%.
No one else in the crowded primary field topped 1%.
More: Who is running for president in 2020? An interactive guide
South Carolina is the first southern state to hold a presidential primary, and currently, 55% of likely voters said they might change their minds before the primary, with another 18% still undecided.
"Unlike tight races in Iowa and New Hampshire, South Carolina has a clear frontrunner in the Democratic primary. Former Vice President Joe Biden has broad-based appeal, with particularly strong leads among black and moderate/conservative voters,” Quinnipiac University Polling Analyst Mary Snow stated. “Where South Carolina is similar to other early states: choices are not set in stone. Roughly 4 in 10 of likely Democratic primary voters say their minds are made up."
Among black voters, Biden dominated at 44%, followed by Sanders at 10%, Warren at 8% and Buttigieg receiving less than 1%.
Buttigieg’s low polling number in South Carolina among black voters comes amid The Intercept's reporting that three South Carolina politicians - who were included in a list promoted by the campaign of more than 400 South Carolinians supporting Buttigieg’s "The Douglass Plan" - felt they had been mischaracterized as endorsing Buttigieg. Johnnie Cordero, chair of the state party’s Black Caucus, said he never backed the plan, which he called "entirely presumptuous."
Despite surging in polling in Iowa, the Buttigieg campaign has struggled to attract the support of African-American voters.
Biden also was viewed as the most favorable of all the candidates at 71% and had name recognition at 89%.
The candidate with the least name recognition was Deval Patrick, the former governor of Massachusetts, who jumped in the race last week.
Snow added that Patrick "has his work cut out for him in introducing himself to voters. Nearly 8 in 10 likely voters say they haven't heard enough about Patrick to form an opinion of him. More likely voters are familiar with Michael Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor contemplating a run, as roughly 5 in 10 haven't heard enough - but voters that have an opinion view him more unfavorably than favorably."
This poll counts for the December Democratic primary debate. Steyer has now hit the polling threshold to make it to the debate stage, but still needs donors. Yang needs just one more poll to qualify, following hitting 4% with this one.
Quinnipiac University surveyed 768 likely Democratic primary voters in South Carolina from November 13 - 17, with a margin of error of 4.8 percentage points.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Joe Biden leads Democratic field by in new South Carolina poll
