What Went Down At The South Carolina Primary
Yeah Nate, I’ll use your mention of Clyburn to plug that we talked to him earlier this week about the Democratic primary. He came out strongly against Sanders and serves as a good example of how party leadership is thinking about a possible Sanders nomination.
It also just ain’t a great sign for Sanders — polls went from showing him almost tied in South Carolina (after New Hampshire) to losing by what could be 20 or more points tonight.
According to preliminary exit polls, 36 percent of South Carolina primary voters decided on their vote within the last few days, while 63 percent knew who they were voting for before that. That may seem like not a lot of people were late deciders, but in fact, it’s significantly more than in either 2008 or 2016.
Decision: How 2020 primary voters compare to past years
Breakdown by decision time of South Carolina primary voters in 2020 and recent presidential election cycles, according to preliminary exit poll data
| When did they decide? | 2004 | 2008 | 2016 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Within the last few days | 33% | 21% | 15% | 36% |
| Before that | 67 | 79 | 84 | 63 |