After victories in Iowa and New Hampshire, Bernie’s decisive win in Nevada has cemented his status as the front-runner for the Democratic nomination
Bernie Sanders is storming to victory. Anyone who still thinks he’s a shooting star that will fade in time should wake up. After victories in Iowa and New Hampshire, Bernie’s decisive win in Nevada has cemented his status as the front-runner for the Democratic nomination. Nevada is particularly significant given its diverse population, compared with overwhelmingly white Iowa and New Hampshire. And it was there that Bernie scored his biggest victory, proving that he appeals to black and Hispanic voters as well. He won the same percentage of the vote he did in 2016, except that this time he faced five strong candidates instead of one.
The South Carolina primary will be held at the end of the week. Just a month ago, Joe Biden was leading the state by double digits; now he’s statistically tied with Sanders. It’s hard to underestimate how significant this is. Biden’s African American support was supposed to give him crushing victories across the Deep South. If Sanders can finish neck and neck with Biden in South Carolina, Biden is in even bigger trouble than we thought.
After Super Tuesday, weaker candidates will have to drop out. Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar exceeded expectations with strong showings in Iowa and New Hampshire. But without convincing wins in several states on Super Tuesday, they’ll have trouble explaining to donors why they’re still in the race. The same applies to Elizabeth Warren.
Unlike Klobuchar and Buttigieg, Warren still has donors and a determined base, but she will struggle to remain competitive through March in states like Ohio, Florida, Michigan, and Illinois. To compete in these delegate-rich states against candidates with war chests like Sanders and Mike Bloomberg, she’ll need tremendous resources.
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