Soundwave said:
Sanders would've won, and Biden would have too (Pennsylvania is off the map right away) and Obama would've wrecked Trump. Any one of those three guys would've won.
It was a very winnable election for the Democrats, Trump was fortunate to run against someone who was almost as unlikable as him in Hillary, that's what kept it close enough for him to turn some traditionally blue states. It was an election between the two most unliked candidates in modern American political history though.
Clinton had too much baggage and wasn't charismatic enough to engage the younger portions of the Obama coalition. She also was an unethusiastic campaigner, whereas you saw the huge enthusiasm at Bernie rallies, that would've spread.
I think Bernie flips Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennslyvania, and perhaps Iowa as well (he, like Obama, did very well there, Clinton has never done well there).
People wanted something different this cycle, Clinton was as establishment as it gets, put Bernie in there and it would contrast how much of an asshole Trump is. Bernie would've done better with indepedents and younger voters, that's enough to find an extra 200k votes between Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennslyvania. I also think he would've been very competetive in Iowa.
The "he's a commie" thing wouldn't have stuck as much IMO. Soviet Union has been dead for 20+ years, it's the equivalent now of "well I just can't see a black guy ever winning the presidency" which people used to say all the time in 2007/08. 20 years ago maybe not, today things have changed.
|
Bernie still lost Iowa and Pennsylvania to Clinton, I still don't think he would've won either of those states in the general election. (Iowa went overwhelmingly for Trump in the general election and whatever Bernie is doing, it was spooking Pennsylvania. Oh and the 200000 vote gap in the primaries applied ONLY to Pennslyvania specifically.)
Trump is so unlikeable that he somehow managed to get more votes than either Romney or McCain ...
Not enough information on Joe Biden to see how he would perform ...
