There are 219 delegates at stake in Florida, making it one of the most important states for Democrats running to secure the nomination. By comparison, South Carolina has 54. A new poll out today from St. Pete Polls shows Joe Biden with a lead outside the margin of error. Just a week ago Mike Bloomberg was on top of the same poll. Floridians go to the polls on March 17th, two weeks after Super Tuesday.
Biden’s advantage is statewide.
Biden leads Bloomberg in every media market in the state. Biden racked up huge margins in the Panhandle and Jacksonville, with Bloomberg more competitive in South Florida.
The frontrunners are roughly neck and neck with white and Hispanic voters, but African American voters are where Biden dominates Bloomberg: the former V.P. is the choice of 46%. Bloomberg lags behind with just 24% of the black vote.
Bernie Sanders is in a distant third and while his poll numbers weren’t necessarily hurt in the Sunshine State after his controversial comments on Fidel Castro, he certainly didn’t build much on the momentum from winning Nevada and New Hampshire. As Republican political analyst Ana Navarro-Cárdenas points out:
In 48 hours, @BernieSanders said crap alienating 2 crucial voting blocs in FL, the biggest swing state. His comments against AIPAC and in favor of Castro, make it very hard for him to win FL + hurt down-ballot Dems.