In some ways, the Democrats are having the same problems as the Republicans concerning uniting their respective bases during their bloody primary fight. Sen. Bernie Sanders beat Hillary Clinton in Wisconsin last night. The self-described democratic Socialist has now beaten the former first lady and prohibitive frontrunner for the Democratic nomination (though Sanders is now leading Clinton 49/47 in a new poll) in seven of the last eight primary contests; something that is starting to frustrate the Clinton campaign, as Sanders continues to pick up momentum and money. In March, Sanders raised an impressive $44 million to Clinton’s $29.5 million. Even worse for the Clinton camp is that a quarter of Sanders voters won’t vote for her in the general if he were to lose the Democratic nomination to her (via the Hill):
One-quarter of voters supporting Sanders say they wouldn't back Clinton in a general election, the new McClatchy-Marist poll released Wednesday finds. About 69 percent of Sanders supporters say that they would support Clinton if she were to become the party's nominee.Sanders supporters least likely to support Clinton if she wins the nomination include independents, moderates and men, according to the poll, while his backers who are most likely to support the former secretary of State include nonwhites, Democrats, women and people ages 18 to 44.
Only 14 percent of those supporting Clinton say they wouldn't back the Vermont Independent senator in a general election, with 79 percent saying they would support him.
Then again, perhaps we’re reading too much into this because, after all, both sides equally hate Trump and Clinton. And certainly no die-hard Republican is going to stay home and let Sanders destroy the country should he become the nominee in a long shot hypothetical. Yes, it highlights that Clinton is a weak candidate, but so is Donald Trump.
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