General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Bernie Sanders Faces Feisty Democratic Challenger [View all]karynnj
(59,501 posts)At least from what I have seen, Vermonters vote the person, not the party. We are not registered by party and can choose which primary to vote in each election, with no regard to the last one.
Admittedly, very little is known about this guy, but what is is not going to get him votes here. In fact, would you even respect this person if he were just a poster here?
More than anything else, this reminds me that some bitter MA Clinton supporters gave a candidate, with little to impress people, the 15 percent needed to be on the MA Democratic primary ballot to punish John Kerry for endorsing Obama. Just as they knew, Kerry won about two thirds of the vote in both the primary and general election.
Vermont knows Sanders, far better than you do. They know his personality, the good and the bad. They know that he does respond to people and that he has fought for them. I know many people who know him well including many who knew him in the 1980s as mayor. One friend, who clashed with him and Jane personally back when she worked for Burlington when he was mayor, said she supported him 100 percent as a statesman in spite of that because she agrees with his positions AND because over decades she knows how committed he is to those positions.
Veterans know how hard he fought for them. People in rural communities know he was the one that got the community health centers in the ACA. They have been a valuable resource, that many now fear losing.