Ken Berwitz
Following is a finding of the new yougov.com poll, which measure, among other things, how Bernie Sanders supporters view Hillary Clinton.
It isn\’t pretty:
If these data are accurate, not only do most Sanders supporters have a negative view of Ms. Clinton, but even those who view her positively are lukewarm ((9% – less than one in 5) while a majority of those who don\’t like her (31% out of 55%) really don\’t like her.
Again assuming these data are accurate, what would they mean in a general election? Hard to say. In most years, it would be assumed that if one of the two eventually win the Democrat nomination (odds heavily favoring Clinton as of now), supporters of the other would swallow their disappointment and vote democrat anyway.
But several polls have shown that there is commonality between supporters of Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump – i.e. they both include a great many people whose preference is based on tossing out “the establishment”. Given that Hillary Clinton is establishment from stem to stern, while Donald Trump is the exact opposite, it is not out of the question that Trump picks up some of Sanders\’ people.
There is also the matter of turnout. Democrats who supported Sanders may not ever vote for a Republican, but might be less inclined to go running to the polls for Clinton.
I hope there will now be ongoing polling which addresses these parts of the election.
How about a poll which asks Sanders supporters who they would vote for if it were Clinton vs. Trump, and Trump supporters who they would vote for if it were Cruz vs. Sanders? Now those are findings I would love to analyze.
