As we approach the end of primary season, I read story last week proclaiming “Bernie Sanders has never been hotter.” At 84 years old and after two failed presidential campaigns, Sanders is still filling arenas and raising millions, all while defying Democratic leaders and helping progressive candidates generate enormous excitement, if not primary wins. Even more so than Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, he has become the leader of a movement with a stronger foothold in Democratic politics than it had a decade ago. Democrats shouldn’t underestimate what is happening, but they also shouldn't confuse enthusiasm with electoral strength.
What we're watching is the latest fight for the soul of the Democratic Party, except this time there is a leadership vacuum at the top. Say what you want about Nancy Pelosi. I disagreed with her on most policies, but she knew how to lead her party.
She led Democrats with an iron fist for two decades. Democrats don’t have anyone to play that role today, and Sanders, AOC and the socialist movement are filling that vacuum. When people on the left complain that even AOC has become “too mainstream,” you get a sense of how far the party has moved.
We’ve seen many DSA primary wins across the country, not only in New York City, but also Washington D.C., Colorado, and the latest in Florida with Angie Nixon pulling off an upset in the Democratic primary for Florida Senate. But will any of this translate into votes beyond the primaries? We got a pretty good test of that over the last few weeks.
In Michigan, progressive Abdul El-Sayed had the backing of Sanders and AOC and appeared headed toward a convincing victory over Rep. An Emerson College poll had him ahead 54 percent to 39 percent. Instead, El-Sayed eked out a one-point win, just 14,893 votes out of more than 1.5 million cast.
A win is a win, but the excitement didn’t translate into votes. At least not like expected. Democratic socialist Francesca Hong led the Democratic gubernatorial field by 20 points in Marquette’s final poll.
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