Observations from the front lines....
I am a mailman in Gainesville, Fl where the University of Florida is located. Although the college kids are very liberal, most of the population here is not. As a mailman, I talk with a wide variety of people on a daily basis, and because I have been at the job for less than two years I do a different route almost every day and speak to people across the whole town. As such, I felt compelled to share with all of you a few observations I have made over the past 6 months.
From what I can see, I think Bernie is going to win the primary, and then the Presidency. I see probably 20 Bernie Sanders yard signs a day, and zero Hillary signs. I haven't seen any Hillary signs in 6 months. That says something to me. Enthusiasm plays a big part in winning a primary obviously, and Bernie supporters have most of the energy. Hillary supporters may like her a lot with their brains, but I know several that aren't even going to vote in the primary and I think it is because Hillary doesn't inspire them or appeal to their hope.
I saw a person the other day with some Hillary stickers on her bumper, and Bernie stickers on the back facing part of her trunk. I asked her what the deal was, and she said that she used to be for Hillary, but has decided to vote for Bernie in the primary. If he loses the primary, she will vote Hillary. Fortunately, 99% of the people I have spoken with will vote Democrat no matter who the nominee is. And some of these people are former Republican voters. Bernie did an amazing thing, and not a lot of people are recognizing this. A lot of policies appeal to old-school Goldwater Republicans, which there are still many. Those people finally pulled their heads out their asses regarding the CURRENT Republican party, and were enticed by what Bernie was saying. Now that they finally considered a "liberal," the realized that Democratic policies nowadays actually more closely resemble traditional Republicanism, at least more than the current Republican party does. People that haven't voted Democratic in ages are practically eager to vote Democratic this time. I have several theories on why old people like him, but regardless, they like him, and most don't like Hillary, usually for dumb reasons.
He has the support of young people. I don't know the average age of a DU poster, but I am 34. Most of the people I hang out with are approximately 45 years old, but due to my fiance's job, I socialize with many people in their late teens to late 20's. Bernie is, by far, the preferred candidate among all these different age groups. College kids love him. Period. Most of them will not even consider Hillary. As for the people in their mid-twenties to mid-thirties, literally every one I know is going to vote for Bernie in the primary. Many of them are even changing their party affiliation just so they can vote for him in the primary, as many of them were previously No Party Affiliation or Green Party. Most of these people will vote for Hillary if she wins, but they are doing every thing they can to prevent that. As for the people in their 40's, most of these people are hippies artists, so it isn't surprising that they prefer Bernie. I suspect marijuana legalization is a big reason for that.
Whatever their individual reasons, Bernie seems to be the only candidate I hear people talking about in my real life. Six months ago, I was the only person in my sphere talking about him. Now, everyone is. Additionally, I have it on good authority that the Postal union will be endorsing Bernie Sanders very soon, which isn't surprising, but is surely welcome. Just wanted to add my two cents for any Democrats that aren't feeling pumped for this coming election cycle! Have a good weekend everyone.
= new reply since forum marked as read
posting your observations and welcome to DU 
Go Bernie Go 
check out the Bernie Sanders group here (in case you haven't already) click on Democrats under the Topics list on the left.
Thanks for sharing!
