New Dem poll: Sanders is best candidate to beat Trump

Sanders has the best chance of defeating Trump, according to 34% of poll respondents. Former Vice President Joe Biden was next, with 25%, followed by former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg’s 15%, and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren at 11%.

The poll was released just before Saturday’s South Carolina primary and Super Tuesday, the nation’s biggest electoral event thus far in 2020.

A total of 67% said the debates, sanctioned by the Democratic National Committee, were useful, compared with one-third of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents who believe they were not. Only 18% said they found them to be very useful, and more non-whites, 27%, found the debates very useful, compared with 9% of whites.

Biden needs a strong showing in the South Carolina primary to remain a viable candidate after three poor showings in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada.

»MORE: Takeaways from the South Carolina debate

Biden, who also said he would put an African American woman on the U.S. Supreme Court if elected, said he will win the Palmetto State as well as South Carolina’s black voters.

A total of 14 states, as well as American Samoa, are holding their presidential primaries on Super Tuesday.

One of those states is Virginia, where a good showing from Sanders would expand his appeal beyond his progressive base to win the primary and the general election. But weak Virginia results may reinforce fears from many in his own party’s establishment that Sanders will struggle to win over legions of centrists he’ll likely need against Trump.

»RELATED: Updated delegate tracker

“The person who wins Virginia is a person who shows they can really put together a coalition that can beat Trump,” said Terry McAuliffe, a former Virginia governor. McAuliffe said the state’s diverse voter blocs, its mix of rural, urban and suburban areas and its many military and veteran voters make it a “perfect” test for Sanders’ appeal.

Several Democratic candidates have lavished attention on the state, and none more than Bloomberg. He spent more than $2.5 million funding groups that helped the Democrats wrest control of the Virginia General Assembly and spent more than $12 million just on television advertising in the state.

Sanders is swinging through North Carolina, Virginia and Massachusetts in the coming days, while Warren is making make stops in Texas and Arkansas. U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar will be in Tennessee and Virginia.

The tight turnaround between Saturday’s primary in South Carolina and the contests that follow Tuesday is creating a hectic stretch for campaigns.

“What happens in South Carolina does matter, mostly because of what the coverage is going to be over the three days leading up to Super Tuesday. If someone seems out of the running, they’re going to lose value,” said Achim Bergmann, a Democratic strategist whose firm does work in a number of Super Tuesday states. “It’s a tough deal for the candidates who are perceived to be at the lower rungs at the moment to figure out where can they get some juice.”

British oddsmakers are betting on Sanders to win all but one of the Super Tuesday states. They are also betting on a Biden win in South Carolina.

With California and Texas — the two most populous states in the United States — holding their primaries on Super Tuesday, more than one-third of the U.S. population is expected to vote March 3.

Also voting Tuesday are Democrats Abroad, the Democratic political party affiliate for American citizens living outside the U.S. The group functions as a state-level political party within the Democratic National Committee.

»MORE: Everything you need to know about Georgia’s presidential primary

Georgia has been part of Super Tuesday in the past but not this year. Early voting, however, begins the day before, on March 2, for Georgia’s March 24 primary.

The poll was conducted Feb. 26-27 in English and Spanish, among a random national sample of 639 Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents. It has a 4.5-point margin of error.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.