2016 Postmortem

Jefferson23

(30,099 posts) Thu Apr 14, 2016, 12:12 PM Apr 2016

California Latinos gravitating toward Bernie Sanders

Berning it in California

April 14, 2016

The East Oakland bar during the dinner hour seemed an unlikely spot for a political “barnstorming” organizing event. Four guys were tossing bar dice at a table in the back. Another was selling Stephen Curry jerseys out of a gym bag. A sign inside the front door reminded patrons that selling or using narcotics inside is illegal — “including ‘weed.’”

But the couple dozen supporters of Bernie Sanders who had gathered inside the Sports Page bar in the predominantly African American and Latino neighborhood saw only opportunity. In a Field Poll released last week, Sanders had not only cut Hillary Clinton’s onetime 63-point lead in California to six points, he had also trimmed her lead among Latino voters to seven points less than two months before California’s June 7 primary. In October, Sanders trailed by 30 points.

No longer are Latino voters being touted as part of Clinton’s electoral “firewall” — a term some Latinos found offensive. Far from it. Nationally, the two are in a virtual dead heat among Latinos, according to a new poll conducted by the Public Research Institute in partnership with the Atlantic magazine.

“Something unusual is going on in the Latino community,” Field Poll Director Mark DiCamillo said. “You’re seeing a reappraisal of Clinton vis-a-vis Sanders. Now it is up for grabs.”

http://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/California-Latinos-gravitating-toward-Bernie-7247123.php