WASHINGTON — South Carolina voters head to the polls Saturday in a key primary that could help solidify the path of Sen. Bernie Sanders to the Democratic nomination or breathe critical life into the campaign of another Democrat ahead of the all-important Super Tuesday elections.

Some New York Democrats in Congress are publicly rooting against a Sanders win. Others support the Vermont Democratic socialist. And a chunk have no desire to share their views publicly at all.

The New Yorkers split over two critical electability questions: can Sanders beat President Donald Trump and will a Sanders nomination make the re-election of House Democrats from swing-districts harder?

Some moderates have expressed fears Sanders's platform and label as a socialist will cost Democrats, sharing his ticket, their House majority and put any chance of Democrats winning the Senate, far far out of reach.

U.S. Rep. Anthony Brindisi, a Utica Democrat who unseated a Republican in 2018 in a district that backed Trump in 2016, said this week that he thought it would be difficult for Sanders to win in November. He prefers a more moderate candidate. He told Syracuse.com he doesn't think people "are looking for a president who supports abolishing private health insurance companies."

"I have made my views on Sen. Sanders pretty clear," he echoed Friday.

U.S. Rep. Antonio Delgado, D-Rhinebeck, another freshman who won a seat previously held by a Republican, refused to engage with the question of Sanders's candidacy.

“Engaging in horse-jockeying around a presidential race is not something that I am here to do," he said.

Sanders's most well-known and probably most controversial policy is Medicare for All, a plan to create a single-payer national health insurance program that would cover all Americans and be funded through taxes. The policy is also backed by Democratic candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, but is opposed by the other more moderate Democrats in the race.

Sanders also supports the Green New Deal climate resolution, wants to provide free childcare and debt-free public college for all and expand Social Security benefits. In debates, moderate Democrats have attacked Sanders's views as extreme and called him a polarizing and divisive figure.

Representing the blue Albany stronghold, U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko, D-Amsterdam, said calling Sanders's views extreme is unfair.

“I think there’s issues of fundamental fairness," Tonko said. "If they are labeled as extreme, this is about economic equality. It’s about making certain that there’s social and economic justice. I think that has been a traditional path of this party and it’s needed now more than ever I believe.”

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., who also ran on Medicare for All when she was in the presidential race, said this week she sees a path to victory for Sanders.

“I do believe he can beat President Trump,” Gillibrand told Politico. “What Bernie has shown us until now is that he has a very broad base of very, very passionate followers. That is the first thing you need for a campaign on any level. Especially in a red or purple district.”

She told the Times Union, “Every potential challenger can beat President Trump. No matter who wins the nomination, Democrats will be united in our goals of winning the White House, flipping the Senate and holding the House.”

The most outspoken Sanders supporter of New York Democrats is fellow Democratic socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of the Bronx, who endorsed Sanders in October and campaigns for him. Ocasio-Cortez, 30, said she backs him because he has fought for public education, affordable health care and housing since the time she was a child.

Rep. Brian Higgins, D-Buffalo, said he thought Sanders views will resonate "with a lot of people, but it remains to be seen as to where he is, once the Democratic primary comes to New York.”

"I want a candidate that can win first and foremost and can get the factions of the party to coalesce around that candidate," Higgins said. "I still think we are early in the primary process."

Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., expressed confidence in all the Democratic candidates, while refusing to discuss his views on individuals.

"The bottom line is very simple. We have a lot of strong nominees," he said. "We have a lot of Senate candidates running. I’m not supporting one over the other. But I think every one of them will beat President Trump.”

Gillibrand has said she will most likely make a presidential endorsement before the New York primary on April 28.

Tonko also said he may make an endorsement before the primary. Key for Tonko will be deciding which candidate has the best plan for combating climate change.

"As long as they’re there with the climate change issue and environmental improvements and infrastructure investments," Tonko said. “There are a number of them that are strong and have put together a plan on climate.”

Higgins indicated he's thinking about an endorsement, as has Brindisi. Schumer will not make one before the nominee is selected.

Sanders is the first candidate ever to win the popular vote in all of the three early voting states of Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada.

New York Democratic voters favor Sanders over former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg for president, according to a Siena College Research Institute poll released Monday.

Sanders won support from 25 percent of registered Democrats, Siena found, with Bloomberg in second place at 21 percent — a four-point difference that falls within the poll's margin of error. Following far behind were former Vice President Joe Biden with 13 percent; Warren at 11 percent; and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar and former South Bend, Ind. Mayor Pete Buttigieg tied at 9 percent.

Each of the six leading Democratic candidates won double-digit leads over President Donald Trump in head-to-head comparisons in New York, Siena found. Still, 62 percent of voters across the political spectrum believe Trump will be re-elected this November, including 48 percent of registered Democrats and 73 percent of independents.