I think this makes sense.

Courtesy of The Hill:

Former Vice President Joe Biden’s lead in Texas grew to 17 points ahead of his closest Democratic presidential primary competitor in the state, according to a new poll.

Biden is leading with 35 percent support, based on the Dallas Morning News-University of Texas at Tyler poll released Sunday.

He has a 17-point lead over Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who registered at 18 percent in the poll. Biden’s lead over Sanders was only 9 points in polls conducted by the Texas university in September and November.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is tied for third with former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, each registering at 16 percent support, based on the poll. Bloomberg, a billionaire self-financing his campaign, has been focusing on Super Tuesday states, including Texas, after opting to skip the first four nominating contests which his opponents are campaigning in.

No other candidates registered in double digit support.

Much of Biden’s support is coming from the African American community, with 50% saying they support his campaign.

Biden also leads among white voters at 27% and Hipanic voters at 33%.

Younger voters are of course leaning toward Bernie Sanders, but it seems unlikely that the majority of Texas Dems, who are themselves fairly conservative, will support a self-described Democratic Socialist.

It will be interesting to see if the results from the caucus in Iowa today has any effect on these numbers.