Surprising his progressive base of supporters, Vermont senator Bernie Sanders has endorsed former vice president Joe Biden in his bid for the presidency. Sanders, who recently dropped from the Democratic primary race, has vowed to work with Biden in order to help remove Donald Trump from the White House.
Sanders vowed on Monday to work with Biden on a policy task force alongside Biden. This, likely, is an effort to unite the left. There is a split in the Democratic base along demographic lines this cycle. Younger voters are skewing hard to the party’s left. Moderate, older Democrats, meanwhile, largely reject progressive candidates like Sanders.
This quick endorsement by Sanders is a stark contrast to his 2016 bid for the nomination. During that election, Sanders took his campaign all the way to the Democratic Convention in June. It wasn’t until July that Sanders finally endorsed the controversial Democratic candidate, Hillary Clinton. Clinton, then, went on to lose to Trump in a near-miss election.
Sanders’ urgency in endorsing Biden, despite their deep political differences, underscores the importance of the coming election. Biden represents everything that the average Sanders supporter hates about the Democratic Party. He’s a centrist with a long record of compromising with far-right policies. Credible rape allegations against Biden have also muddied progressive support for the unpopular candidate.
Notably, Biden shares this in common with Trump, who has been credibly accused of rape numerous times. This has led to a paralysis of sorts among many progressive voters who loath both candidates, but can’t abide another four years of Trump in office.
While the COVID-19 pandemic has dominated headlines for the last month, the election draws ever closer. Biden likely has an uphill battle to rally voters behind his candidacy. He will need to sway both progressives and undecided swing voters to unseat the incumbent Trump.
Trump, meanwhile, has seen his public support take a beating during the pandemic. His slow response to the threat of COVID and his administration’s subsequent blundering has tanked his approval ratings, which initially surged during the pandemic.
Biden’s campaign likely hopes that Sanders’ quick endorsement, paired with the reprieve they’ve gotten from the pandemic, is enough to give them momentum going into November. With the alternative being another four years of Trump, it remains to be seen whether Biden will be able to convince progressives and swing voters to rally behind him.
