Sen. Bernie Sanders campaigns in New Hampshire. Credit: File: Paul Heintz

Top aides to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) are pushing a new argument for his presidential candidacy: that he’s the most electable candidate in the field.

“Democratic primary voters are very concerned about ensuring that they [nominate] somebody who can defeat Donald Trump,” senior adviser Jeff Weaver said Monday in a conference call with reporters. “I think that we have strong indicators from the 2016 race that, in fact, Bernie Sanders is the person who’s best positioned to do that.”

According to Weaver and campaign pollster Ben Tulchin, Sanders’ ability to turn out independents, working-class voters, young people and first-time voters could make the difference in a general-election matchup against the Republican president. Tulchin pointed to the so-called “blue wall” states of Wisconsin and Michigan, which Trump won in 2016, as pickup opportunities for Sanders, were he to win the nomination.

“We believe polling data clearly shows that Bernie’s extremely well-positioned to win the Democratic primary and to beat Donald Trump in a general election matchup,” Tulchin said.

The campaign’s early fundraising success has enabled it to scale up quickly. In his first presidential campaign, Sanders had just 30 people on staff by the end of July 2015. But according to newly named campaign manager Faiz Shakir, it’s already hired 70 staffers since Sanders joined the race last month.

Weaver said that the campaign is currently focused on building out teams in what he referred to as “the first five” states. Those include the traditional early voting and caucusing states of Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina — plus California, which recently moved up the date of its primary election and has a robust early voting system.

Tulchin conceded that Sanders drew “almost no support” from African American voters at the start of the 2016 race, but he said that the senator had made inroads with them and with Latino voters since.

“Sanders comes into this campaign in a very, very different position with voters of color than he did in the previous campaign,” the pollster said. “And it puts him in a very strong position to win the Democratic primary as a result of that broad, diverse coalition he has.”

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Paul Heintz was part of the Seven Days news team from 2012 to 2020. He served as political editor and wrote the "Fair Game" political column before becoming a staff writer.

10 replies on “Sanders Camp Says He’s Best Positioned to Defeat Trump”

  1. Bernie missed his chance in 2016, while Hillary and her ilk were corrupting the nomination process, in order to steal it from him, because they also knew he was going to beat them at their own game.

    That was 2016, and things are much, much different now that Trump has proven his policies are the right and correct direction for our country. Bernie should not have sold out to the Clinton Crime Family.

    Put aside the boorish behavior and recognize all the good things that Trump has achieved in the face of numerous, constant and baseless accusations, and constant attacks from the main stream media. Put aside the fact that his biggest crime was beating Hillary Clinton and recognize the incredible economic prosperity Trump’s policies have created, and what they have brought across the board to so many Americans.

    We finally have a President who is willing to stand up and call out the liars, and defend all that is great about America.

    Recognize the incredible bigotry and outright hatred that we have seen from the left, every single day since President Trump was elected. Recognize the constant lies and misinformation that the immoral main stream media has perpetrated on the American public, and the fact that they have abandoned neutral reporting, in order to create a false narrative that promotes liberals and liberalism, to our collective detriment.

  2. The Great Morpheus obviously has not cottoned to the fact that much of what the current president says is lies. It has been established by reputable sources that his litany of alternative facts and tirades against the press are some of the reasons Trump is unlikely to win a second term. He also doesn’t have a disliked opponent of Clinton’s level unless of course Biden enters the race.

    So I wonder why Morpheus has graced us with his own version of alternative facts in an article about the most popular politician in this state. Yes, I know the boo-birds will be up in arms over this claim, but show me another candidate in any race here with Bernie-type numbers. The fact that you can sneer doesn’t change those numbers one whit.

  3. Well seeing Weaver and Tulchin are being paid (I think ) by the millionaire Sanders they will say anything. Sanders tells them. He wouldn’t have won the presidential race in 2016 no matter what.
    There’s too many good honest American who won’t vote for him. Not everybody in this country is socialist. “WE” believe in hard work, we know everything is not free.in this world, we stand up for our country and we honor our Veterans who fought !
    Sanders is not a senator. What has he done for Vermont, besides naming a post office? He misses a lot of votes in the Senate, He’s to busy running around the country peddling his book.
    Has he created jobs here in Vt? No.. Has he helped with the drug problems? Has he helped out the Veterans and the VA? That was a mess he said it was great.
    Has he helped the seniors with social security? No. This country and Vermont is going down the drain while these politicians are getting rich and the middle-class and the poor are going out. The left would like it if the middle-class and the poor would just disappear so they don’t have to deal with us. I have no respect for Sanders, he’s all talk and says what you want to hear. I know this for a fact. I asked him to help me with the government on getting my husband who died, military papers. Oh yes, he said, that was 15 yrs ago.. he never answered my letters or calls, when I see him face to face he would brush me off. He’s good about brushing people off. The last time I saw him I had a few choice words for him, it was fun watching him turn red.

  4. I agree with every word The Great Morpheus and Donna Boutin say. Bernie is the ultimate politician, not doing a day’s work never mind an honest one, even before he was mayor of Burlington, his unfortunate launch into politics. This man does not represent Vermont. Because he is too buys with more worldly crap like climate change, free education. Why people buy into this charlatan, this gravy train rider who is laughing all the way to the bank, is a mystery. Wake up people. As an aside, as an person who believes in our country’s consitution and Bill of Rights, I am taking great pleasure watching the anti-thesis of democracy, the Democrat party, implode.

  5. It is amazing how many Putin loving TrumpChumps show up on an article about Bernie. Slow day over on the StormFront website?

    Bernie won’t be a frontrunner for long. The DNC and their Wall Street Masters will see to that. They are waiting on “Status Quo” Joe Biden to save them from all of this “socialism” run amuck.

  6. The Great Morpheus and Donna Boutin like to believe all of the things that Trump has done besides lying about everything! He’s in love with both of the dictators Putin and Kim Jung Un! Trump also thinks there is a national emergency at the border which there isn’t! Trump is a narcissistic liar about everything and has made a laughing stock of America

  7. Oh and by the way Bernie has helped me and several other people that I know, with problems dealing with the government red tape so saying he doesn’t do anything is a complete lie!

  8. “so saying he doesn’t do anything is a complete lie!.”

    He’s been in Congress and the Senate since 1991. Please name all of the legislation he introduced and passed. He does things? Yeah, I guess he does things if you count making himself rich and famous. Oh, and he effectively abandoned Vermont in 2015 in his quest for intergalactic fame, wealth, and power, and he hasn’t been seen here since.

  9. Sanders is finally getting the vetting he should have gotten last time around. This bloviating grifter hides behind his ideological purity to shirk the real work of legislation. In his 30 years in Congress, hes built no bridges or coalitions, and does not even get the support of his Vermont delegation (Welch and Leahy). Hes spent his entire career throwing pebbles at bulletproof windows and ranting. Barney Frank said it best: Nobody has accomplished less than Bernie Sanders for his thirty years in Washington. And hes STILL hiding his tax returns.

  10. Trump, while NOT a god-fearing person, is praying on bended knee that Bernie gets the Dem nomination.

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