Bernie Sanders Might Have a Michigan Problem

[highplainsdem]

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/06/upshot/bernie-sanders-michigan-problem.html

-snip-

But Mr. Sanders has so far failed to match his 2016 strength across the white, working-class North this year, and that suggests it will be hard for him to win Michigan.

This pattern has held without exception this primary season. It was true in Iowa and New Hampshire against Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar. It was true in Maine, Minnesota, Massachusetts and even Vermont on Super Tuesday against Mr. Biden.

Over all, Mr. Biden defeated Mr. Sanders by 10 points, 38 percent to 28 percent, in counties across Maine, Minnesota and Massachusetts where white voters made up at least 80 percent of the electorate and where college graduates represented less than 40 percent of the electorate. According to the exit polls, Mr. Biden was tied or ahead among white voters in every state east of the Mississippi River on Super Tuesday.

This is a marked departure from 2016. Back then, Mr. Sanders tended to excel among white, working-class and rural voters across the North. This made Michigan, where white voters represent a well-above-average share of the Democratic electorate, one of his stronger states. He dominated in Michigan’s small towns and rural areas, losing only in few counties that tended to have older voters.

-snip-

[frazzled]

1. It was always said that Biden's strength was with white working-class voters

His Scranton roots and all. I guess that's why Obama picked him. I was never sure about the accuracy of this claim. I guess it's true.

Having the African-American vote and white working-class vote together is what I guess explains his strength.

[democrattotheend]

3. I expect Biden to be strong with white working class voters

Probably stronger against Bernie in this group than Hillary was. Then again, Hillary was the one who was stronger with that group 8 years earlier, in 2008, so who knows?

It was highly ironic to me in the fall of 2016 that the pundits were asking if Hillary could win the white working class voters that Obama won, when 8 years earlier they'd been asking incessantly whether Obama could win the white working class voters who had gone overwhelmingly for Hillary in the primaries.

[Bev54]

2. Bernie should have stayed out of this race

Warren was the progressive, his ego was too big. He misread his popularity or lack thereof but once again just acted a spoiler for a woman candidate.

[NCProgressive]

4. He also made the race all about him

Without showing any give and take to expand his base.

We have had a disastrous experience with someone who made the race all about him already.

[Recursion]

5. The woulda-coulda-shoulda's about who did and didn't run this cycle are legion

But, yeah, that's a big one

[William769]

6. Might?

He will.