Hillary Clinton Leads by 48 Points in South Carolina

Now that we’ve had two Republican debates within about twelve days of each other, it’s time once again to shift attention back to the Democratic primary race. The next Democratic debate is coming up this Saturday and will air on CBS at 9pm ET, 6pm PT. The latest polling, out of South Carolina, shows Hillary Clinton with a commanding forty-eight point lead over Bernie Sanders, her closest rival.

Report from Politico

Hillary Clinton has a commanding lead over Bernie Sanders in South Carolina, according to the results of a new poll released Tuesday.

Clinton has the support of 69 percent of likely voters in South Carolina’s Democratic primary, while the independent Vermont senator trails with just 21 percent, according to the latest Monmouth University Poll. Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley barely registers, with just 1 percent support.

South Carolina’s Democratic primary is open to supporters of other parties, including Republicans and independents. When the poll’s respondents are limited to self-described Democrats likely to vote in the primary, Clinton’s lead is ever higher: 74 percent to Sanders’ 16 percent.

The former secretary of state, who lost the 2008 South Carolina primary to then-Sen. Barack Obama, leads with African Americans — three out of four believe she would do an “excellent” or “good” job as president. Just over half feel the same about Sanders.

Clinton also has high favorable ratings (81 percent) compared with 7 percent unfavorable. Sanders has a 58 percent favorability rating, with 13 unfavorable and O’Malley has 18 percent favorable, 18 percent unfavorable.

While Clinton and Sanders continue trading the lead in New Hampshire, the rest of the early states mimic South Carolina and show Hillary with an almost insurmountable lead. Sanders has the natural advantage in New Hampshire given his status as the Senator from neighboring Vermont. Also notable in South Carolina is that Martin O’Malley barely registers one percent making this race almost a two-person contest.

The next Democratic debate happens this Saturday, November 14. It will be competing with college football games but will air locally in Iowa as well as nationally on CBS stations. More details to come shortly.