Poll: Toss-Up Race In South Carolina Special Election

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The special election to fill Sen. Tim Scott’s (R) vacated House seat in South Carolina’s Republican-leaning 1st Congressional District is a toss up, largely due to former GOP Gov. Mark Sanford’s low popularity, according to a Public Policy Polling survey released Tuesday. 

After last week’s primary, Sanford will face and likely defeat former Charleston County Councilor Curtis Bostic in a run-off for the Republican nomination. The winner will face Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch.

Colbert Busch currently leads Sanford 47 percent to 45 percent and ties Bostic at 43 percent. 

Colbert Busch’s high numbers against Sanford come from her strong popularity versus Sanford’s low popularity, according to PPP’s analysis. 

Focusing in on the potential race between Busch and Sanford it’s surprisingly close for one simple reason- voters like Busch and they continue to strongly dislike Sanford. 45% of voters see Busch favorably to only 31% with a negative opinion. On the other hand Sanford is still stuck with a 34% favorability rating and 58% of voters seeing him in a negative light.

PPP surveyed 1,175 likely voters from March 22-24. The poll has a margin of error of +/- 2.9 percentage points.

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