The media reports have evolved in the last few hours from Bernie Sanders ‘has this ‘ to question about his squeaker win in NH yesterday….
Most Democrats ARE moderates …
Bernie Sanders is NOT…
And most Democrats right now agree with Donald Trump…
That is that Trump CAN BEAT Bernie Sanders in a one on one…
How far can Sanders go with this handicap with voters, not the media?
Whether a voter cares more about specific issues or beating President Donald Trump in November seems to have a significant impact on who they’ll vote for in the Democratic primary — and, specifically, whether a voter supports Sen. Bernie Sanders above all the other options.
That’s based on exit polls from the New Hampshire race, where 63 percent of voters prioritized beating Trump. Among that group, about 28 percent voted for former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, 21 percent voted for Sanders, and 20 percent for Sen. Amy Klobuchar.
But among the 34 percent of New Hampshire voters who prioritized a candidate who agrees with them on major issues, Sanders led with 39 percent support, with Buttigieg and Klobuchar lagging far behind at 21 and 12 percent respectively. (The top issues, according to the same poll: health care, climate change, and income inequality.)
Sanders’s large lead with issues-focused voters could explain his narrow win in New Hampshire: He picked up just enough Trump-focused voters for a solid baseline, while his huge victory with issues-focused voters put him over the top.
This is a likely bit of a simplification of the situation. While voters may name concrete priorities when asked by pollsters, voters in reality balance a whole host of variables, from electability to policy positions to personal likability, when picking a nominee. But given that so much of Democratic voters’ attention is going to beating Trump — and has been for some time — this conflict between electability and policy positions will likely be a major one for the rest of the primary season.
For Sanders, now the frontrunner [????*], it also seems to be a notable weakness. It’s not just that he lost among voters who prioritize beating Trump. Democrats in general seem to view him as less electable, at least according to the New Hampshire exit polls: Asked who stands the best chance against Trump, 27 percent of voters said Buttigieg, 21 percent said Klobuchar, and 19 percent said Sanders. (This differs from national polling, where former Vice President Joe Biden has generally dominated, followed by Sanders, former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, and Buttigieg.)
If Democrats continue focusing on beating Trump, but continue believing that Sanders is not the best person to do that, the party may have a hard time uniting behind Sanders, even if he is the frontrunner….
*….Sanders is NOT the front runner…Pete Buttigieg has more delegates right now….
In National polling Bidden leads head to head against Trump…He did 5th in NH…
Sanders continues to poll extremely well against Trump. The last poll (Quinnipiac) has him up by 8.
as of today, I don’t think he is our best candidate, but he is running a great campaign. In my personal opinion, he easily outperforms others in making the best case to vote Democratic.