Kamala Harris’s attack on Joe Biden’s opposition to forced busing in the 1970s was supposed to help Harris cut into Biden’s base of support among African-American primary voters. But the latest polling out of South Carolina from Monmouth suggests the first Democratic debate was not a game-changer:

Biden currently holds 39% support among South Carolina voters who are likely to vote in the February 2020 Democratic primary. The next tier of candidates includes California Sen. Kamala Harris (12%), Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders (10%), and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren (9%)….
Biden has widespread support among black voters (51%), a group that makes up more than 6-in-10 likely primary voters. His support among white voters (24%) is less than half that level. Among the top five candidates, two earn significantly higher support among white voters than black voters: Warren (21% white and 2% black) and Buttigieg (11% white and 1% black). The remaining candidates draw equal support from both groups: Harris (12% white and 12% black) and Sanders (10% white and 10% black).

Meanwhile, in national polling, Nate Silver observes that Harris’s post-debate bounce has faded, while Biden has made up some of the ground that he lost. Since the first debate, Harris has waffled on whether she supports reinstating the busing policies that Biden opposed.

The bad news for Biden is that South Carolina votes after Iowa and New Hampshire, and those races look much more competitive. It will be very difficult for him to maintain support in South Carolina if he does not win one of the first two contests.