ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA - South Carolina Democratic voters strongly support Joe Biden to be the Democratic nominee to become the 46th president, according to the latest Winthrop Poll.
Thirty-seven percent of those surveyed said they were leaning toward voting for the former vice president. Of the African American Democratic and Democratic leaning voters contacted, he had even higher numbers, at 46%.
Other candidates planning to run in the S.C. primary with support were U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, 17%, followed by U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, 8%, and U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris, 7%. The remaining 15 candidates fell under 5%.
South Carolina is important in the presidential process because it is the first primary in the South and because it is the first time presidential candidates can be vetted by large numbers of African-American voters.
Winthrop Poll Director Scott Huffmon noted that "African Americans constitute one of the most important constituencies for the Democratic Party. African Americans can make up more than 60% of the Democratic Presidential Primary vote in South Carolina, which is a much larger portion than in the Iowa caucus or New Hampshire primary."
See questions and answers here.
Only a third of those surveyed by the Winthrop Poll said they were sure of their choice. A little more than half of all respondents said they might change their mind.
The Democratic and Democratic leaning poll respondents overwhelmingly (93%) said they disapprove of the way President Donald Trump is handling his job as president. Those S.C. voters who identify as Republican or lean that way have the opposite opinion: 72% approve of Trump.
More than half of white Democratic voters in S.C. said that beating Trump was more important than picking a candidate who shared their positions on major issues, while only 35% of black respondents said beating Trump was important.
For this latest Winthrop Poll, callers spoke to 462 Democratic and Democratic Leaning Registered Voters and 406 Republican and Republican Leaning Registered Voters between Sept. 21-30. Phone calls were made primarily during weekday evenings, all day Saturday, and Sunday afternoon and evening and were made in English. Results that use all Democratic and Democratic Leaning respondents have a margin of error of +/- 4.6% at the 95% confidence level. Results that use all Republican and Republican Leaning respondents have a margin of error of +/- 4.9% at the 95% confidence level.
The Winthrop Poll is paid for by Winthrop University. It is one of 18 threshold polls chosen by the Democratic National Committee to determine who among the two dozen 2020 presidential candidates qualify for debates.
For additional information, or to set up an interview with Poll Director Scott Huffmon, please contact Judy Longshaw at longshawj@winthrop.edu or 803/323-2404 (office) or 803/984-0586 (cell).
