A Sanders win in California could mean 'summer of agony' for Clinton

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A Sanders win in California could mean 'summer of agony' for Clinton
Nicole Gaudiano
USA TODAY

But a California victory would keep Sanders’ campaign going and help him make his case to superdelegates that he’s the best candidate to defeat presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump. That would create a “summer of agony” for Clinton leading up to the convention, forcing her to fend off both Trump and Sanders simultaneously, said Brad Bannon, a Democratic pollster and consultant.

“If Sanders loses California, it’s hard for him to tell the superdelegates that ‘I’m the better candidate,’” said Bannon, who has stayed neutral in the race. “Even if he wins California, he’s not going to be the nominee, but he will keep his campaign alive and there will still be a lot of sniping between Sanders and Clinton. That means she can’t focus on what she wants to do, which is win over the Sanders people.”

Sanders’ focus on the state hasn’t gone unnoticed by Clinton’s campaign. Clinton, who defeated Barack Obama in the 2008 California primary, changed her schedule to be in California on Thursday rather than in New Jersey, which also holds its primary Tuesday. Clinton's California state director, Buffy Wicks, sent out a May 16 fundraising letter telling supporters that although the primary is “all but over,” “Bernie’s team is working hard to pull off a big upset here to try and make some trouble.”

“We need to be strong enough to take on Bernie’s grassroots army and Donald Trump at the same time,” Wicks wrote.