Why the South Carolina debate was a Bernie-sniping, Bloomberg-slamming fiasco, in three simple charts

• The debate in South Carolina was the last such televised debate before not only the South Carolina primary on Saturday but also Super Tuesday.
• Several themes were conspicuous: Bernie Sanders, the delegate leader at this point, taking critiques from all other candidates. 
• Mayor Mike Bloomberg, who has blanketed Super Tuesday states in advertisements promoting his bid, continued to take heat from Sen. Elizabeth Warren over his business record.
• Finally, appeals were made to African American voters, who compose a major electoral force in not only South Carolina but Super Tuesday states as a whole.
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The February 25 debate saw all semblance of comity or composure collapse in the Democratic field. Where once candidates made elaborate pains to finish before time had expired, or to avoid interrupting a rival, or to boost an adversary's plan and elevate someone as a worthy Democrat, this debate was sloppy.

Even the previous debates saw most candidates unite with a common purpose, such as dunking on former Mayor Mike Bloomberg. No such espirit de corps on display tonight. An the reason is simple: With one exception, everyone is losing, and unless they can win big on Saturday in South Carolina and win massive on Tuesday in over a dozen states composing 35% of all delegates, they're not going to get to become the president. 

For the past several months, Insider has been conducting a recurring SurveyMonkey Audience poll to track the state of the 2020 Democratic primary field. You can download every poll here, down to the individual respondent data. (Read more about how the Insider Democratic primary tracker works here).

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See Also:

• RESULTS: Bernie Sanders wins the Nevada caucus, see the full vote count and delegate race here
• Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg clashed more than ever in the Vegas debate. These numbers show why.
• Tom Steyer is running for president. Here is everything we know about the candidate — and how he stacks up against the competition.

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