Thread by @JillPiggott

Analysis: Why #Sanders lost the nomination: "Simple explanation" is that he got "trounced" when the race narrowed to 2; "many of Biden’s wins were blowouts, ballooning his pledged delegate lead to 311, a margin that is essentially insurmountable." | thread fivethirtyeight.com/features/why-b…

.@perrybaconjr "Why did Sanders do so badly in a 1-on-1 contest against Biden? I’d offer 3 explanations, none of which are mutually exclusive from the other 2."

1>"Sanders didn’t run a smart enough campaign."

#Bernie's campaign "seemed to think that #Sanders had a unique appeal to white working-class voters that would simply continue in 20," despite "clear indications" that some of his success in '16 w/ whites w/o college was more anti-HRC than pro-Sanders.

#Sanders got fewer votes in every race compared w/ 16: -17.6% on av, -28.4% in states he won in '16, -35.4% in VT.

@BrookingsGov @nytimes report Sanders camp assumed their support in '16 was pro-Bernie, not anti-HRC & failed to do enough to keep at least some of those voters.

.@perrybaconjr: "#Sanders campaign decided to invest heavily in the March 10 primary in Michigan, a state packed with white voters w/o a college degree. #Biden not only won Michigan easily, but he won overall among white voters w/o a college degree (and pretty comfortably)."

"#Sanders stayed in the race for about a month after Michigan, but that loss was really the end of his campaign" (Bacon).

Sanders said so himself. He conceded the race after losing every county in Michigan. He just didn't drop out. c-span.org/video/?c486304…

"#Sanders and his team also expected that he would boost turnout among younger voters. This did not pan out" (Bacon).

Turnout for voters under 30 was down nearly 3% in 20 compared to 16.

🚩 #Vote! Register & request absentee ballots online: vote.org/register-to-vo…

2>"Democrats were wary of a very liberal nominee" (Bacon).

Irony is that #Biden is running on same #progressive platform #Sanders & #Warren ran on & the only people who seem to know this are right-wingers in full panic: He's not moderate! He's not moderate!

They're right.

#Biden's platform from start: universal healthcare, #GreenNewDeal, $15 min wage, free community college, student debt relief, no #DeathPenalty, nat'l law to protect women's access to #abortion, expunge cannabis records, #LGBTQ Equality Act.

#DoTheReading threadreaderapp.com/thread/1244077…

#Rightwing is already in a panic, trying to convince sane #Republicans not to vote for #Biden because he's not a moderate. townhall.com/tipsheet/ellie…

.@perrybaconjr I'm a professor. I like you. But do the reading. #Biden is NOT running a "centrist-y" campaign.

Thanks in large measure to #Bernie, Biden is further LEFT than ALL previous #dem nominees. threadreaderapp.com/thread/1236841…

#Biden is all-in on a solidly #progressive platform. I know. It kinda surprised me too. Don't take my word for it. #DoTheReading. reason.com/2020/03/04/joe…

#Sanders is 100% right: he won the ideological battle...in '16. Biden, Warren, Sanders ALL have universal healthcare plans, which is good since Bernie introduced #M4A in '19 & it has only 15 Senate votes. I'm not lying about this. #DoTheReading bostonglobe.com/2020/03/11/opi…

3>"Trump aside," Bacon writes, "Sanders was always a weird fit as the Democratic nominee." Biden held the lead in nat'l polls except for the 24-day stretch from #Bernie's NH win & #Biden's big SuperTuesday finishes (2/10 to 3/4).

.@nytimes "How Sanders' Run Came Undone" threadreaderapp.com/thread/1241412…

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