COLUMBIA, S.C. — New polling numbers by Clemson University predict Joe Biden winning the South Carolina Democratic Primary, but experts say it's the second place recipient who revealed an interesting twist.
Joe Biden is the clear front-runner in South Carolina, according to results of Clemson's Palmetto Poll. He earned over a third of voter support.
The Palmetto Poll, which began in the late '90s, is conducted during major elections - such as presidential primaries of both parties and during statewide elections for governor and senator positions.
Dr. David Woodard, one of the poll directors, says aside from this likely being the first primary victory for Biden - it's the candidate in second place who's also a "first".
"Tom Steyer has not been playing on any TV channels outside of South Carolina. He's not looked upon as a major player, but as we were polling, we kept seeing that Steyer was doing very well on the telephones each night. It was impressive how many people were going to vote for Steyer," said Woodard, Professor of Political Science Emeritus at Clemson University.
Sanders, who is two-for-two in primary wins, follows Steyer closely in third.
Warren and Buttigieg are tied in fourth with 8% of votes, and 12% of poll participants remain undecided.
"Every state in the South is different, but they do have some similarities. We sort of epitomize those. If you want to know how a candidate's gonna do, how they do in South Carolina is a good indication of how they're gonna do in the South," said Woodard. "If you go from Texas up through Virginia...in the Southeastern voter states like Tennessee and West Virginia, it's about 38 to 40% of the electorate."
Most poll participants say they made their selection because their chosen candidate is "a strong leader", "cares about people like [them]" and "shares [their] position on issues".
Here's a breakdown of who voted in the Palmetto Poll: All 650 voted in previous elections, and all plan to vote again. The majority are African American females over 65 years old.
This makeup [pictured above], Woodard says, is a direct representation (give or take 3.5%) of the people who vote in South Carolina.
"Voters are very different from non-voters, and a lot of people don't participate in primaries," said Woodard." So you have to be careful who you ask the questions to."
In the poll, 200 participated via phone call, 200 voted online and 200 via panel surveys February 17 through February 25.
Dr. Woodard says the outcome could always change, especially with a big event like President Trump's rally in Charleston Friday.
Nonetheless, poll directors don't expect huge changes at the polls come Saturday's primary. Woodard says the Palmetto Poll has a history of accurately predicting winners.