Bernie Sanders Gains Momentum, However, Hillary Clinton Still Dominates

Senator Bernie Sanders is slowly, but surely gaining momentum in the Democratic presidential nominee race. Despite identifying as an Independent, Senator Sanders has announced that he will run as a Democrat in order to seek nomination in the 2016 Presidential campaign. Since his official announcement, polls revealed that support for Bernie Sanders has increased by ten points among Democrats in Iowa.

Senator Bernie Sanders has gone from 5 percent in February to 15 percent in May, according to the most recent Quinnipiac University poll of Iowa. However, his recent numbers are dwarfed by clear favorite Hillary Clinton despite the recent scandal involving the Clinton Family Foundation and her tenure as U.S. Secretary of State.

The poll showed that Hillary Clinton was in good stead to dominate the Democrat caucuses in the next winter with 61 percent willing to back Clinton. However, with Senator Elizabeth Warren unwilling to throw her hat into the ring, Bernie Sanders is now the Liberal’s main hope for an elected representative in the current Presidential campaign.

To many, Hillary Clinton represents the status quo in Washington, and with Bernie Sanders’ progressive ideology, the Democratic primaries might not be so one sided by next winter. Sanders’ No. 1 obstacle may just be name recognition, half of those who were polled did not know enough of the Senator from Vermont.

In the coming months, Bernie Sanders will hope to eat up Hillary Clinton’s lead. Meanwhile, Sanders campaign has taken off at least at the grassroot level.

Between April 30 and May 9, Bernie Sanders has had an average of 17,766 Facebook shares per post reaching a total of 100 million people on Facebook. Within the same time, Hillary Clinton has had an average of 225 Facebook shares per post reaching a total of 1,000,000 people.

Sanders has even gone on to raise $3 million in the four days after his announcement, according to The Huffington Post. Bernie Sanders had received approximately 75,000 contributions at an average amount of $43.

With next winter’s Democratic primaries to look forward to, Senator Bernie Sanders has made a positive start to his Presidential campaign. With upcoming appearances on major networks slated, Bernie Sanders may still yet play a major role in the 2016 Presidential campaign.

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