#NeverHillary Democrats actively courting CA Republicans to #FeelTheBern
Meanwhile, Sanders closes gap with Clinton in latest CA poll.
I have long sensed that the 2016 California primary would be very memorable.
Kemberlee Kaye just reported that Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders may debate ahead of the California primary, as Hillary Clinton declined to debate Sanders recently.
Hillary Clinton may want to rethink the non-engagement approach that led to this development, as Sanders is now closing the gap in recent polling.
The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) poll, conducted May 13 – 22 and released Wednesday, found: “Among Democratic primary likely voters, 46 percent support Clinton and 44 percent support Sanders. These voters include Democrats and independents who say they will vote in the Democratic primary. Clinton has a slight lead over Sanders among registered Democrats (49% to 41%).”
The reason I highlight “Democratic primary likely voters” is that many Republicans are re-registering in order to vote #NeverHillary in June. Dawn Wildman, coordinator of California Tea Party Groups, indicate that several Democratic Party activists have reached out to her, attempting to encourage this voting pattern.
“What is interesting is that these Democrats say they will vote for Trump in the fall,” said Wildman. “They were surprised when we didn’t hang up on their proposal, but noted that many our members were already moving forward with this voting plan.”
Think about it: The Democrats “inevitable” nominee had a 11-point lead in January of this year, and now is essentially in a dead-heat with someone who has not regularly identified as a Democrat before tossing his hat into the ring.
One of the most surprising aspects of this poll is just how narrow the gender gap is, as well as the small difference in the Hispanic vote preference.
Sanders holds a 4-point edge with men, and Clinton leads by 7 points among female voters.
There’s also little difference between white voters, who favor Clinton by a 6-point margin, and Hispanics, who back the former secretary of state by 9 points.
A win in California would give Bernie Sanders a reason to press superdelegates to change their convention intentions.
Interestingly, Sanders’ position on Superdelegates has… evolved.
Bernie Sanders’s suggestion that he might fight for the presidential nomination all the way to July’s Democratic National Convention runs counter to the position he adopted in 2008.
Now, Sanders’s aides argue that only pledged delegates, not superdelegates, should be counted when weighing support for him and front-runner Hillary Clinton. But in 2008, Sanders backed then-Sen. Barack Obama as the presumptive nominee even though Obama too lacked enough pledged delegates to win outright.
Sanders continues to be greeted by massive and enthusiastic crowds during his current tour, including today’s stop in Ventura:
The @BernieSanders rally @ventura_college ROCKED! Bernie for President! #Bernie2016 #FeelTheBern pic.twitter.com/3cdcp5rxtP
— Mayuka Thais (@mayukathais) May 26, 2016
If Sanders closes once San-Andreas-sized gap in California completely, and pulls out a win, there will be political tremors felt all the way to Philadelphia this summer.
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Comments
I registered Dem so I could burn Hillary. Now I am torn between wanting to heap humiliation on the Criminal and wanting her to lose in November. I guess the best answer is humiliation.
Rule to follow: Whenever you can vote against Hillary,do.
I thought Dems have an open primary.
They do not. The explanation I read was that all of the political parties in California have closed primaries for the presidency, although it is easy to switch parties for a given election. Bernie supporters have filed suit to push back the registration date, too.
Not exactly open.
In California, political parties have the option of allowing people who have registered as No Party Preference to vote in their primaries; the Democrats allow this, the Republicans don’t.
So, if someone is registered as NPP they can vote in the Dem primary; if they are registered with any political party they cannot.
Another good post. Leslie! But I worry about the projection that, if Hillary won, 40% of the Sanders’ protest votes would go to Trump. Being a Trump supporter now, I wouldn’t want him to lose that advantage.
i re-registered as NPP just so i could vote against Shrillery here in #Failifornia next month.
in November, i’ll be voting for Trump, not because i’m thrilled with him, but because the other options are worse, and i’m a practical person, not a zealot.