Democrats hurt by lack of Sanders?

[PAK Man]

Something I've been thinking about ever since the election - are there states where Democrats simply stayed home because Bernie Sanders was not the presidential nominee? And this, in turn, hurt downballot Democrats?

I really believe this is why Democrats utterly collapsed in Iowa on election night. Sanders was extremely popular here, especially among the younger crowd. Heck, Clinton just BARELY won the caucuses, and even that's been disputed since some of her caucus locations were won by a coin toss. Many of my friends who supporter Sanders absolutely refused to back Clinton. And I have one friend who only voted for her because he saw how close the election was getting and was afraid Trump would win. Many of them voted for Gary Johnson. I think this is part of the reason why Monica Vernon lost by such a big margin to Rod Blum, even though he looked like a goner a year before the election.

Could the same thing have happened in states like Wisconsin? Sanders easily won the state, but with him not at the top of the ticket, did his supporters simply stay home or vote third party? And did that cause a drag on Feingold, whose loss was probably the most shocking on election night?

Any thoughts?

[GlobeSoc]

Yeah, for some reason Iowa hates Clinton.

I feel that Sanders could have at least kept Iowa close, if not outright winning. He definitely would have won Michigan and Wisconsin, dragging Feingold over the line.

Basically, he would have been significantly stronger in the midwest, although an anti-sanders person might argue he could have been weaker in VA,NC, and FL. I would say that overall, he would have done better than Clinton on election night, and would have over performed the polls because of his millennial base

[Figueira]

Sanders certainly wouldn't have lost Essex County, Vermont.

I don't think he would have won Iowa, but it would have been closer.

[libertpaulian]

I think Sanders would have won with the Obama 272 EV firewall map, but the national PV would have been substantially closer as urban CA did not like him.  VA would be gone with Sanders, and CO would be closer.

I don't think suburban DC would have gone for Sanders like it did for Clinton and Obama.

[Heisenberg]

I think Sanders would have won with the Obama 272 EV firewall map, but the national PV would have been substantially closer as urban CA did not like him.  VA would be gone with Sanders, and CO would be closer.

LOL no. Hippie potheads would have boosted the D margins there.

[Kingpoleon]

Sanders might have been able to carry McGinty, Van Ostern, and Feingold to victory. He definitely could have made Bayh, Gregg, Gray, Bullock, Kander, Koster, Cooper, and Ross perform better, and probably made Ross, Gregg, Kander, and Koster win. Sanders might even have been able to carry Bayh to victory.

[Heisenberg]

Sanders might have been able to carry McGinty, Van Ostern, and Feingold to victory. He definitely could have made Bayh, Gregg, Gray, Bullock, Kander, Koster, Cooper, and Ross perform better, and probably made Ross, Gregg, Kander, and Koster win. Sanders might even have been able to carry Bayh to victory.

Nah, Bayh's baggage brought him down, and to finish him, Pence pulled Young across to victory. But I do agree 100% with you on all the others.

[Kingpoleon]

Sanders might have been able to carry McGinty, Van Ostern, and Feingold to victory. He definitely could have made Bayh, Gregg, Gray, Bullock, Kander, Koster, Cooper, and Ross perform better, and probably made Ross, Gregg, Kander, and Koster win. Sanders might even have been able to carry Bayh to victory.

Nah, Bayh's baggage brought him down, and to finish him, Pence pulled Young across to victory. But I do agree 100% with you on all the others.

I have to imagine many Sanders/Trump voters voted for Young, the Republican candidate, or the libertarian nominee Lucy Brenton.

[Bismarck]

Can we please stop with the Sanders thing. He would've lost worse than Clinton. Half his primary voters were to the right of Clinton. Most people just thought "nice old honest guy who isn't Clinton". People in the general would've rejected him once they learned how far left he was.

[Cynthia]

Can we please stop with the Sanders thing. He would've lost worse than Clinton. Half his primary voters were to the right of Clinton. Most people just thought "nice old honest guy who isn't Clinton". People in the general would've rejected him once they learned how far left he was.

It has nothing to do with left/right divide, but establishment/outsider divide. A generic R wouldn't win this way against Clinton even with more moderate policies.

[Kingpoleon]

Can we please stop with the Sanders thing. He would've lost worse than Clinton. Half his primary voters were to the right of Clinton. Most people just thought "nice old honest guy who isn't Clinton". People in the general would've rejected him once they learned how far left he was.

My post was referring to him mounting an absolutely massive campaign for fellow Democrats when he wasn't the nominee.