Bernie Sanders Would Have Won This Election With A Landslide Had He Still Been In The Race, Says Poll

With him not in the presidential race anymore, it appears Americans are having a what-if moment with Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.

As we enter the last two months before the approach of the much anticipated Election Day, on November 8, Americans are still reeling without a candidate who truly represents them. Sure, there are two major party candidates, and for a little bit of excitement, the third-party candidates are performing as well as they have for a long time in an American election, but there is not a single candidate who represents the kind of sanity, discipline, compassion and empathy we would want to see in a man/woman who is to occupy the Oval Office come January 5. It is not like America has set a great precedent with electing presidents having all of those qualities in the near past, but for the better part, most American presidents have not been loathed by half their citizenry.

But Clinton and Trump have changed all that during the present election season. Both candidates are disliked intensely, despite their long and illustrious careers. While Hillary’s four decades in public service is littered with instances of terrible decision-making, failed experiments of military interventions in foreign states, and a plethora of duplicitous financial contributions, Trump is a xenophobe who is not even a good businessman or a leader. The Republican candidate has brought the political discourse in the country to the utterly vague binary of Us vs. Them. Come to think of it, his divisive rhetoric and angry demeanor, coupled with his fickle temperament, should disqualify him from contesting for any position of authority, let alone being the president of the country.

It is no wonder, then, that both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are the most disliked major-party presidential candidates in recent American history. A recent ABC poll showed that 56 percent of Americans have an unfavorable view of Clinton, while 63 percent of Americas have an unfavorable view of Trump. Compare that to the favorable ratings of Bernie Sanders, and one is left wondering what if the DNC had not been complicit in tilting the nomination process in Clinton’s favor, or, what if the Democratic Party had been absolutely neutral and not pushed its support behind one candidate?

The answer to that question is as stark as they come: Bernie Sanders would have won the general election by a landslide. According to a recent aggregation of poll data dating back to April of last year, Bernie Sanders has proved himself to be the most preferred presidential candidate from any party. His 53.4 percent favorable rating in September, 2016, fares far better than either Clinton, who is performing dismally with 41 percent favorable ratings, or Trump, who has a 37.2 percent favorable rating. If the general election had been a five-horse race between Clinton, Trump, Sanders, Gary Johnson, and Jill Stein, and the election was being held today, it is safe to assume that Bernie Sanders would have trounced all his fellow candidates with some ease.

It is perhaps one reason that Bernie Sanders’ supporters were so keen for him to turn away from Clinton, and instead launch an independent bid for the White House earlier in the year. If there ever was an election in which major-party candidates could have been defeated, it was this, and having already laid the groundwork during the nominating season, Sanders could have pushed for more votes with his exceptional work ethic.

But like they say: if hopes were dupes, fears may be liars.

As it stands, Bernie Sanders is insistent that he will make the Democratic Party take a left corner, but for all that will be worth, a Bernie presidency could have been much better.

[Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images]