Excerpt: "The Sanders campaign loves to say that his status as an Independent gives him a leg up in the battleground states. These numbers seem to bear that out."
Vermont senator Bernie Sanders. (photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images)
24 February 20
olls released over the weekend show Vermont senator Bernie Sanders leading in three crucial battle ground states.
In Michigan and Pennsylvania, states Trump won by razor thin margins in 2016, Sanders is leading by 9 and 7 points respectively.
In Wisconsin, a state Barack Obama won twice in 2008 and 2012, but which went for Trump in 2016, Sanders is leading his Democratic rivals by a whopping 17 points.
It also bears noting Sanders is only 6 points behind Minnesota senator Amy Klobuchar — in Minnesota, her home state, an equally important battleground state.
While these polls only look at the preference of voters for the Democratic nomination and likely do not contain results from Republican respondents, the trend bodes well for Sanders’s chances in the November general election. It also rebuts one of commercial broadcasting’s favorite memes, “Sanders can’t win in the battleground states.”
Wisconsin is perhaps the best news for Sanders. Wisconsin is really emerging as a true swing state. If Sanders is making the case in Wisconsin, his chance of doing well in the other battleground states get a big boost.
The Sanders campaign loves to say that his status as an Independent gives him a leg up in the battleground states. These numbers seem to bear that out.
