Bernie Sanders’ Political Revolution Surging in Wisconsin (and Nevada?!?)

   
| April 2, 2016 8:44 pm | 7 comments

UPDATE: Defying the polls, Bernie Sanders won Wisconsin by double digits over Hillary Clinton.

Even though political pundits and mainstream media talking heads buried Bernie Sanders campaign long ago, never really giving him any chance at all, the Vermont Senator is surging in Wisconsin after winning 6 out of the last 7 Democratic primary contests. Most of the recent Wisconsin polling has Sanders ahead of Hillary Clinton by a few points.  This is a rather remarkable turnaround in Wisconsin as Sanders trailed the Democratic front-runner by over 40% a year ago.

On one hand, Bernie Sanders’ surge in Wisconsin makes perfect sense as Wisconsin is the birthplace of the progressive political movement, with a history of accommodating anti-establishment candidates. The political upset felt across the nation in Michigan is a good omen for the Sanders’ campaign in neighboring Wisconsin as both states utilize open primaries that allow independents to vote in the Democratic primary and independents overwhelmingly favor Sanders.

On the other hand, the fact that Sanders is remotely viable in Wisconsin, or any state for that matter, is rather amazing as most wrote the anti-establishment campaign off for good after former Secretary of State Clinton won all five of the March 15th contests and pushed her delegate lead above 300. However, the political revolution that Sanders has called for, didn’t go quietly into the night and funds from the army of small donors he has cultivated kept coming in. The insurgent candidate then rallied off big wins in Utah, Idaho, Washington, Alaska, Hawaii and Democrats abroad, with only one setback in Arizona.

A pledged delegate deficit that once was above 300, has now shrunk to under 230 with Wisconsin and Wyoming the next contests. Also, Sanders will apparently pick up a few extra delegates in Nevada, potentially even winning the state outright after his delegates outpaced Hillary Clinton’s at recent county conventions. For instance, while Clinton defeated Sanders by 10% in Clark County in the February state caucus, Sanders actually won more delegates from the county’s convention.

Fivethirtyeight.com now gives Sanders about a 70% chance of winning Wisconsin based upon the latest polls, after Clinton had about a 70% chance just a few days ago. Wyoming is likely to be another Utah-or-Idaho-like landslide. With 86 delegates at stake in Wisconsin and 14 in Wyoming, Sanders is likely to cut into Clinton’s delegate lead heading into the ever-so-crucial New York primary.

New York, with a closed primary and home to Hillary Clinton’s residence following her tenure as the state’s junior senator, is an uphill battle for Senator Sanders, but he was born in Brooklyn and plans on campaigning as if he is running for governor of the state. While Sanders won’t benefit from any independents’ votes, there was an upswing in New Yorkers registering as Democrats and voters have tended to like Sen. Sanders the more they get to know him.

Reining in Wall Street corruption and outlawing fracking will likely resonate with Wisconsin and New York voters, and of course, ending federal marijuana prohibition appeals to Democrats. One notable revelation from the Wisconsin Public Policy Polling survey was that Sanders was actually leading Clinton among black voters; if anything like that occurs in Wisconsin and future states, then the future is very bright for Bernie Sanders’ political revolution.

“It’s a Revolution” ad released by the Sanders campaign (whoever has developed this ad and the “America” ad, have done very well, in my opinion):

Anthony, a longtime cannabis law reform advocate, was Chief Petitioner and co-author of Measure 91, Oregon's cannabis legalization effort. He served as director of both the New Approach Oregon and Vote Yes on 91 PACs, the political action committees responsible for the state's legalization campaign. As director of New Approach Oregon, Anthony continues to work towards effectively implementing the cannabis legalization system while protecting small business owners and the rights of patients. He sits on the Oregon Marijuana Rules Advisory Committee and fights for sensible rules at the legislature as well as city councils and county commissions across the state. Anthony helps cannabis business comply with Oregon's laws and advises advocates across the country. He also serves as content director of both the International Cannabis Business Conference and the Oregon Marijuana Business Conference, helping share the vision of moving the cannabis industry forward in a way that maintains the focus on keeping people out of prison and protecting patients. He was a member of the Oregon Health Authority Rules Advisory Committee, assisting the drafting of the administrative rules governing Oregon’s state-licensed medical marijuana facilities. He first co-authored and helped pass successful marijuana law reform measures while a law student at the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law. He passed the Oregon Bar in 2005 and practiced criminal defense for two years before transitioning to working full-time in the political advocacy realm. His blogs on Marijuana Politics are personal in nature and don't speak for or reflect the opinions of any group or organization.