After a resounding win by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in the Nevada caucuses Saturday, he and the other Democratic presidential hopefuls now turn their attention to South Carolina, whose primary will be held Feb. 29.
Even with only 60 percent of precincts reporting by Sunday evening, Sanders holds a 2-to-1 lead in the popular vote over his two closest competitors, former Vice President Joe Biden and former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg.
Sanders has an even larger lead in the county convention delegate count in Nevada, at 46 percent, compared to 20 percent for Biden and 15 percent for Buttigieg. There are 36 delegates at stake in Nevada.
So far, Sanders has won the popular vote in all three states that have voted so far, Iowa and New Hampshire being the other two, and has a double-digit lead in committed delegates for the Democratic National Convention. He has 34, compared to 23 for Buttigieg. Biden and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren both have eight, while Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar has seven.
Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and businessman Tom Steyer have yet to secure a delegate.
All of those candidates, with the exception of Gabbard, will be on the debate stage Tuesday night in Charleston, S.C. It begins at 8 p.m. on CBS.
Candidates can qualify for the debate either by having at least one pledged delegate or by their performance in DNC-approved national polls or in polling done in the first four states to debate.
Biden told supporters in Las Vegas Saturday night, “We’re alive and we’re coming back and we’re gonna win. I think we’re going to go, we’re going to win in South Carolina and then Super Tuesday and we’re on our way.”
Despite disappointing results in the first three voting states, South Carolina has long been seen as Biden’s stronghold – something political pundits often call a candidate’s “firewall” – in particular due to his support among the African-American community there.
Recent polling in the Palmetto State, however, shows a tighter race compared to a month ago.
A recent CBS News poll, taken before the Nevada caucuses, shows Biden with 28 percent support among likely Democratic voters, compared to 23 percent for Sanders. Steyer ranked third in that poll at 18 percent, with Warren at 12 percent and Buttigieg at 10 percent.
Biden enjoys 35 percent support among African-American voters in South Carolina, who make up the majority of the electorate there, with Steyer at 24 percent and Sanders at 23 percent.
* This article was originally published here
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