I wonder if there will be a study done to determine why Sanders didn't do as well as Biden?

[LiberalFighter]

They both had name recognition. Biden's also included a longer history and more history known to the public. Sanders' on the other hand had a shorter history but still long enough for strong recognition. The difference might be the details not as well known to the public. It didn't hurt Biden being VP to a well liked President either.

[hlthe2b]

1. well, it didn't help that

Comey came out the day before to announce Sanders was under FBI investigation?

Oh, not Sanders? My bad...





Too soon for irony?

[Mike 03]

2. Speculation

I'm not an expert but I hope they pay particular attention to the last four weeks, when the Bernie campaign seemed to spiral into the sewer, and what role if any figures like Nina Turner, Shaun King and Cenk played in the last-minute polarization of opinion (i.e., the implosion we are seeing in Michigan). Bloomberg's ad called attention to how some Bernie supporters were behaving, and it became a mainstream talking point.

Bernie's story of Joe is that he's "establishment" but I've been saying for months he's actually a classic American underdog because of how Trump has been beating up on him and Hunter and because of how he's fighting to restore America's dignity against a huge Trump machine. America loves an underdog. It's a Rocky movie. Of course, we need to wait until November to see how it ends.

[LiberalFighter]

13. I don't think I saw that Bloomberg ad.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. I have no doubt that will happen.

I have a few ideas of my own, one of which is simply that a majority of Democratic voters might be unimpressed by a shouty, finger-pointing old guy yelling warmed-over lefty slogans from the '60s.

[TwilightZone]

4. Don't need a study.

He has a support cap, roughly 30%. Much of his support in 2016, perhaps even as much as half, was anti-Hillary sentiment misunderstood as pro-Bernie. The difference in his level of support between 2016 and 2020 bears that out quite clearly.

In fact, his campaign knew that he had a cap and planned accordingly. The goal was to get 30%, get a plurality of delegates going into the convention, then demand the nomination. They knew a majority was unlikely, as was a second-ballot win.

[Mike 03]

5. Great points.

Of course, everything you wrote is true.

But haven't Bernie's "unfavorables" recently exploded? I'm interested in that part of the story too.

[TwilightZone]

11. I think that started with the Nevada tweet.

If I had to guess, Sanders thought he had the nomination in the bag and therefore thought he could assertively start attacking the party again (his natural stance), shifting to a focus on the general election. He and his campaign have since doubled-down, attacking Klobuchar and Buttigieg as pawns of the system, pushing edited videos and conspiracy theories about Biden's mental health, and so on.

I think he's done Biden a huge favor. He's given the average voter a very clear picture displaying the difference between Sanders and Biden, both in the campaign and how they would serve as president. I think the overt aggressiveness and "both sides are bad" mentality are only solidifying the party around Biden.

[relayerbob]

8. Exactly

And with 15% of the total population (max) supporting you, you cannot win.

The only reason he's still in it, is that there were a bunch of candidates opposing him until SC. Now, the "silent majority" (lol, so sorry Nixon misused thos phrase, because it is true) stepped up and is shutting down the twitter minority

[relayerbob]

6. Very simple

People are sick and tired of hearing their leaders scream and accuse them. Biden represents stability and security, not another four years of chaos.

Save the study money for feeding the poor

[redstatebluegirl]

7. Bernie does well in caucus states.

Some of the states he won in 2016 as caucus states are now primary states. He has less control over those voters than the stupid caucus states.

[LiberalFighter]

14. Caucuses work good for candidates if they have good underlings.

[onetexan]

9. If Bernie's camp did do a post morterm in 2016, it would have been clear for him NOT to run in 2020

given his 30% ceiling. You just can't win elections with that low of a base. And this isn't even fuzzy math.

[Sloumeau]

10. The majority of Democrats always wanted a Moderate.

When you have 27 Moderates splitting the vote, people can forget that.

[Chainfire]

12. No need for a study

Sanders is viewed as so far to the left that he is not a credible candidate.

It doesn't matter how good his vision of America sounds, people just don't see him as being able to beat Trump. Most of us would like Sanders dreams to come true, but then we have to wake up to the reality that we have to run the person with the best chance to beat Trump. Otherwise the only Liberalism left will be in the history books.

[LonePirate]

15. Remove the anti-Hillary vote from Bernie in 2016 and he's performing now like he did then.

[LizBeth]

16. Sanders was never a strong contender. Skewed because Democrats were getting their vote split by 5.

Sanders never had the upper hand with the voters.