New poll finds Sanders surging to within 7 points of Biden in South Carolina

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has cut former Vice President Joe Biden’s lead in South Carolina down to single digits, according to a new poll showing the Vermont Independent making inroads in the early-nominating state.

A Change Research–Post and Courier survey released Friday found Sanders with 20 percent support among likely primary voters, second only to Biden’s 27 percent. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) was third with 19 percent. No other candidate was in double digits.

The results from Change Research, a left-leaning pollster, showed Sanders performing better than in state surveys conducted by other polling outfits.

A Quinnipiac University poll last month found Biden with a 20-point lead over Warren, who had 13 percent support. Sanders was third with 11 percent.

But the new survey shows a surging Sanders when compared with a Change Research–Post and Courier poll from October, when Biden was at 30 percent, followed by Warren at 19 percent and Sanders at 13 percent.

The most recent Change Research survey was conducted Dec. 6–11 among 998 likely primary voters with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

Among the early-nominating states, Biden has been expected to have his strongest showing in South Carolina, in part because of his popularity among black voters.

An Economist-YouGov national poll this month found that 49 percent of black voters said Biden was their first choice among the Democratic presidential candidates. In contrast, only 13 percent chose Warren, while 11 percent picked Sanders.