Here are 5 things to watch in the South Carolina primary on Saturday

The Democratic primary field has remained surprisingly large headed into Super Tuesday.

After Saturday, it’s likely that candidates who have not performed well in the first four states to vote will be called on to drop out. Of course, they might not do so.

The pressure is particularly acute on the race’s moderates, such as Biden, Klobuchar, Buttigieg and Bloomberg.

That’s because it is looking increasingly likely that Sanders could emerge from Super Tuesday on track to build an insurmountable lead in delegates, effectively securing the nomination.

The moderate contenders may be limiting each other from receiving delegates, a problem compounded by the 15% threshold to receiving delegates. This conundrum is particularly evident in a state like California, the biggest delegate prize of the entire primary, which votes on Tuesday.

There, Sanders is averaging just over 31% in state polls, followed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who is hovering above the 15% viability level. Biden, Bloomberg and Buttigieg are each just below that threshold, somewhere between 10% and 15%.

That leaves the potential that Sanders could run away with more than 400 pledged delegates just from California, despite not winning even a majority of the state vote.

While the calls for some candidates to drop out will likely escalate, none of the contenders still in the race have signaled that they intend to go away any time soon.

“I am going to stay right to the bitter end,” Bloomberg told NBC News in a Thursday interview, “as long as I have a chance.”

Article source: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/28/south-carolina-primary-results-5-things-to-watch.html