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Don't Dismiss Bernie Sanders [View all]
This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by Omaha Steve (a host of the General Discussion forum).
Don’t Dismiss Bernie Sanders
February 20, 2019 at 9:01 am EST By Taegan Goddard
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) kicked off his presidential campaign by raising an impressive $4 million in just 12 hours. He also won an immediate endorsement from Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), who had backed Clinton four years ago. And he signed a campaign manager with deep experience in the party, a strong contrast with the disjointed campaign he built in 2016.
Those are all good reasons for his Democratic rivals to take him seriously.
But a more important reason might be his demonstrated ability to energize younger voters.
The best Democratic nominee to go up against President Trump is one who can rebuild the Obama coalition — the women, minorities and young people who turned out in record numbers to twice elect Barack Obama.
Several current candidates can potentially energize women voters (Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Kirsten Gillibrand) and voters of color (Kamala Harris, Cory Booker). But Sanders is the only candidate — so far, at least — with a proven appeal to young people.
A recent Quinnipiac poll found that young voters like Sanders by a stunning 57% to 29% margin, while older voters do not, 40% to 45%. That’s a remarkable feat for the oldest candidate in the race. He’s obviously delivering a message that young people want to hear.
That said, Sanders is still mostly a factional politician and, for the last 30 years at least, Democrats have nominated candidates who can build broad coalitions. One of the current candidates, perhaps Kamala Harris, might also prove appealing to young voters. Or maybe it will be a new entrant to the race like Beto O’Rourke.
But until then, Democrats should not dismiss Sanders. He holds one of the keys to putting the coalition back together that allowed Democrats to hold the White House for eight years.
Those are all good reasons for his Democratic rivals to take him seriously.
But a more important reason might be his demonstrated ability to energize younger voters.
The best Democratic nominee to go up against President Trump is one who can rebuild the Obama coalition — the women, minorities and young people who turned out in record numbers to twice elect Barack Obama.
Several current candidates can potentially energize women voters (Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Kirsten Gillibrand) and voters of color (Kamala Harris, Cory Booker). But Sanders is the only candidate — so far, at least — with a proven appeal to young people.
A recent Quinnipiac poll found that young voters like Sanders by a stunning 57% to 29% margin, while older voters do not, 40% to 45%. That’s a remarkable feat for the oldest candidate in the race. He’s obviously delivering a message that young people want to hear.
That said, Sanders is still mostly a factional politician and, for the last 30 years at least, Democrats have nominated candidates who can build broad coalitions. One of the current candidates, perhaps Kamala Harris, might also prove appealing to young voters. Or maybe it will be a new entrant to the race like Beto O’Rourke.
But until then, Democrats should not dismiss Sanders. He holds one of the keys to putting the coalition back together that allowed Democrats to hold the White House for eight years.
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