Booker polling at 2% in South Carolina, new Monmouth poll says

Cory Booker is at 2% among likely voters in the 2020 South Carolina Democratic primary and trials Joe Biden by 37 points, according to a new Monmouth University poll released today.

The New Jersey senator has made eight trips to South Carolina, one of the early states in the presidential nomination process and a place where his campaign has made a priority.

Booker has favorables of 49%-12% in South Carolina.  Biden’s favorables there are at 79%-9%.

Biden leads Kamala Harris 39%-12%, with Bernie Sanders in third place with 10%.  They are followed by Elizabeth Warren (9%) and Pete Buttigieg (5%).

The latest entrant in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, Tom Steyer, is tied with Booker at 2%.

“South Carolina is the first state on the Democrats’ 2020 calendar with a majority black electorate,” said Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute. “Despite some supposed missteps on the issue of race, Biden maintains widespread support with this voting bloc.”

Booker’s favorables are at 55%-18% among white voters and 45%-10% among black voters.   Biden has favorables of 82%-4% among black voters and 74%-19% among white voters.

“Black Democrats tend to be more moderate than white primary voters,” Murray said.  “Biden is the best known candidate currently occupying that lane.”

The Monmouth Poll was conducted between July 18-22 with a statewide sample of 659 likely voters in South Carolina.  The margin of error is +/- 4.9%.