Change Research/ Post and Courier South Carolina Poll: February 23-27
Key Findings
- Joe Biden leads the Democratic primary with 28%, followed by Bernie Sanders (24%), and Tom Steyer (16%).
- Biden (36%) and Steyer (22%) lead among black voters, and Sanders (27%) and Biden (19%) lead among white voters.
- Sanders has a strong lead among voters 18 to 34 and a slight lead among voter 35 to 49; Biden leads substantially among voters 50 years and older.
Change Research surveyed 1,057 likely general election voters in South Carolina, including 543 likely Democratic primary voters, from February 23-27, 2020.
Biden, Sanders, and Steyer Lead the Democratic Primary in South Carolina
Joe Biden leads the Democratic primary with 28%. He is followed by Bernie Sanders (24%), Tom Steyer (16%), Elizabeth Warren (12%) and Pete Buttigieg (11%). All other candidates poll at 5% or less.
Breakdown by Race
Biden (36%) leads among black Democratic primary voters in South Carolina, followed by Steyer (24%) and Sanders (22%). Sanders leads among white voters with 27% of the vote, followed by Biden (19%) and Buttigieg (18%).
Breakdown by Age
Sanders leads among voters 18 to 34 with 37% of the vote, followed by Warren (18%) and Steyer (13%). Sanders (25%) also slightly leads Biden (24%) and Steyer (21%) among voters 35 to 49. Biden has a strong lead among voters 50 years and older, leading Sanders by 9 points among voters 50 to 64, and by 26 points among voters 65 years and older.
Changes After Charleston Debate
Among respondents who answered our survey during or after the debate in Charleston Tuesday night, Biden has a 9 point lead against Sanders, with Biden at 29% and Sanders at 20%. Warren and Buttigieg are both tied at 14% among this group of survey takers, and Steyer is at 12%. These numbers present a slight bump for Biden, Warren, and Buttigieg, and a slight fall for Sanders and Steyer supporters.
Change Research surveyed 1,057 likely general election voters in South Carolina, including 543 likely Democratic primary voters. The margin of error as traditionally calculated is ± 3.7% for the full sample and ±5.1% for Democratic primary voters. Change Research reaches voters via targeted online ads that point people to an online survey instrument. Our Dynamic Online Sampling delivers large samples that accurately reflect the demographics of a population. Post-stratification was done on age, ethnicity, gender, congressional district, 2016 primary vote, and 2016 general vote.
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