Despite a wellspring of support from a grassroots progressive movement, Senator Bernie Sanders has suspended his presidential campaign. The progressive politician took an early lead in the primary, but lost a string of states in late winter to centrist former vice president Joe Biden. With Sanders’ campaign suspension, Biden now has a clear path to the nomination.
Sanders dropping from the race is another blow to progressives, many of whom are voters under 30. Due to Biden’s unpopularity among younger voters, there are fears that his nomination could set up the 2020 election to be a repeat of the 2016 race against Hillary Clinton. Clinton won the majority of voters over Trump, but was unable to secure enough Electoral College votes due to her polarizing political history.
Before 2016, Sanders was well-known in Vermont, but was a relative unknown to national audiences. Following his surprisingly successful 2016 campaign, however, a grassroots movement of young progressives rallied around the candidate.
Sanders’ campaign was focused primarily on political reforms. These include offering “Medicare for All,” universal tuition, the absolution of student debt and advocating for workers’ rights. The progressive campaign took issue with the massive income inequality of the United States, with Sanders vowing to make billionaires pay their fair share of taxes as president.
Primarily, Sanders didn’t want people worried about things like hospital bills, Humira medicare cost and their student loan debts.
Biden is now left with a fractured electorate that is difficult to consolidate. The number of smaller factions among the voting base that he must win over will likely be problematic. Biden will need to convince Sanders supporters that he is willing to compromise on issues like Medicare for All and student loan forgiveness.
However, these policies are unpopular among centrist voters and big-ticket donors that Biden will likely also need to win. Republicans face no such hurdles, as their voting base, while from many different economic backgrounds, tends to agree more than the Democratic voting base does.
Additionally, Biden will face the same uphill battle that all Democratic candidates face: widespread voter suppression. Each state is free to draw up their own voting districts and make their own voting regulations. Thus, there are ample opportunities for gerrymandering.
This has led to several nail-biting victories for Republicans, including Bush in 2000 and Trump in 2016. Both Republicans in those races lost the popular vote. But, due to the irregularities of the Electoral College, narrowly secured the presidency.
