Democratic voters in South Carolina strongly favor former Vice President Joe Biden to be the party’s nominee for president, according to a Winthrop Poll released Tuesday.
With less than five months to go before the party’s South Carolina primary on Feb. 29, the poll found Biden favored by 37% of Democrats. Elizabeth Warren was second with 17%. No other Democrat scored higher than 8%.
Among black Democrats, Biden’s popularity was even higher, at 46%. Kamala Harris was favored by 10 percent of black Democrats, Corey Booker by 4%.
What’s motivating black Democrats in the Palmetto State? Thirty-eight percent said their primary motivation was to support a candidate who shares their views, vs 35% who said they want a candidate who can beat Donald Trump. (Fifty-four percent of white Democrats said beating Trump was their biggest motivator.)
Why it matters: South Carolina will hold this election season’s first presidential primary in which black voters will have a substantial say. Black voters could cast up to 60% of the ballots in the state’s Democratic primary, said Scott Huffmon, who directs the Winthrop Poll. Not so for other early testing grounds, such as the Iowa Caucus or New Hampshire primary.
In addition, the Winthrop Poll 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.
Fighting the Civil War: When asked what should become of Confederate monuments, 57% of Republicans said leave them alone, vs 15% of Democrats, who favored having them moved to museums (46%). As for paying reparations to black descendants of those who were enslaved, 78% of Republicans opposed, vs 28% of Democrats.
Sixty-nine percent of black Democrats said they favor reparations.
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