The latest poll in South Carolina’s 1st District special election shows Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch expanding her lead over former Governor Republican Mark Sanford. However, Sanford gained popularity among Republicans even after the trespassing charges were made against him earlier this month. A new survey from the Democrat firm Public Policy Polling reveals:

PPP’s newest poll on the special election in South Carolina finds Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch expanding her lead to 9 points over Mark Sanford at 50/41. Green Party candidate Eugene Platt polls at 3%.

Sanford’s popularity in the district continues to be low, with a favorably of 38 percent and a negative of 56 percent, while Colbert Busch has a favorability of 56 percent and a negative of 31 percent.

Colbert Busch’s lead can be attributed to her 51/35 advantage with independents and her control over 19 percent of Republicans, while losing only 7 percent of Democrats. Also of note is the polling on the issues of gun control and background checks: 86 percent of voters polled were in favor of background-check legislation while only 12 percent opposed it.

One final note on the South Carolina numbers- while Mark Sanford’s poll numbers with Republicans have improved since the last time we looked at this race, Jenny Sanford’s have gone in the other direction. What was a 57/15 favorability rating for her with Republicans is now 47/27, suggesting that a lot of GOP voters are holding the trespassing allegations against her instead of her ex-husband.