Former vice president Joe Biden is far ahead of other South Carolina Democrats in a Winthrop University poll released Tuesday.
Thirty-seven percent of voters said they are leaning toward supporting Biden. Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren – who campaigned Saturday in Rock Hill – is second with 17%.
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is third with 8%, and California Senator Kamala Harris has seven percent.
South Carolina’s primary is February 29. It’s the fourth state to hold either a primary or caucus, after Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada.
And it’s the first state in which there are a large number of African American voters. In the 2016 Democratic primary, black voters made up 60 percent of the Democratic electorate.
Among black voters, Biden leads with 46%. Harris is second with 10%, and Warren is third with 8%.
The poll suggests there is plenty of opportunity for candidates to rise or fall. One-third of those surveyed said they were "sure of their choice." The poll said a little more than half of respondents said they might change their mind.
The poll surveyed 462 Democratic and Democratic-leaning registered voters. The calls were made between September 21 and 30.
Biden campaigned at Clinton College in Rock Hill in late August before a crowd that was about evenly split between whites and African Americans.
Warren also campaigned at Clinton College on Saturday. Her crowd was much larger than Biden's, but her crowd was about 80 to 90% white.
