Hillary Clinton Vs. Bernie Sanders Democratic Primary Results Delegates And Super Delegates

Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are facing off in the Democratic Primaries, and both have a long way to go. A total of 2,383 delegates or superdelegates are needed to win the Democratic nomination.

So far, Clinton has 663 pledged delegates. She is also believed to have 458 superdelegates, for a total of 1121 delegates over all. Bernie Sanders has 479 delegates in total, and he is being said to only have 22 superdelegates and 457 pledged delegates, according to MSN election results. With Maine still voting, and many primaries yet to be held, it is still anybody’s race. Still, the superdelegates could really hurt Bernie unless he get a substantial lead in quite a few future primaries.

The news reports superdelegates as if they were committed, though in reality they are not. Superdelegates can change their votes at the convention or at any time prior to the convention. Therefore, superdelegate votes are not really Hillary’s votes or Bernie’s votes until votes are cast at the Democratic Convention. The video below explains how the press is being irresponsible in counting all the superdelegate votes ahead of the convention.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03UwonUweAk

So, why does the press insist Hillary has so many more superdelegates than Bernie? According to FiveThirtyEight the answer is because the purpose of superdelegates is to prevent people like Bernie Sanders from getting the Democratic nomination and becoming president.

“Superdelegates were created in part to give Democratic party elites the opportunity to put their finger on the scale and prevent nominations like those of George McGovern in 1972 or Jimmy Carter in 1976, which displeased party insiders.”

So, the deck is stacked against outsiders like Bernie Sanders, who isn’t really a part of the Democrat establishment. Clinton is, and so the party would rather have her, presumably no matter what the public thinks, or how ordinary people vote. Thus, superdelegates keep the status quo, even when ordinary voters don’t agree with the party.

Polls show Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders virtually tied in popular votes, splitting the Democratic party right down the middle, both in spirit and in votes. The democratic popular vote is absolutely too close to call at this time, but the superdelegates give Hillary a decided advantage in the primaries. The Democratic plan to keep Sanders out could backfire, if Hillary can’t hold her own in the general election. Supporters continue to debate which is most electable.

While Clinton and Sanders remain very civil to each other, voting Democrats are becoming more deeply divided against each other. Fourteen percent of Democrats, mostly Bernie supporters, say they will not vote for Hillary no matter what, according to multiple sources including the Washington Times. Hillary voters, however, are so confident she will win most haven’t even considered voting for Bernie if the worst should happen to their candidate.

There are actually two groups of people who support Bernie that will not vote for Hillary in the general election. First there is the previously mentioned 14 percent of all Democrats. Then there are the crossover Republican voters who prefer Bernie Sanders to Clinton. Sanders is a union candidate. In fact, his only large donations have come from workers unions. He is not accepting campaign contributions from corporations, instead relying on individual supporters and trade organizations. Republicans who prefer unions, or believe Sanders could bring job opportunities, could take votes away from Republican candidates in the general election, but that is not as likely for Clinton, as discussed on Quora.

The fracture cannot be good for the party, but it is not the fault of either candidate. The rift is between Democrats themselves, because of their different viewpoints and ideals. People most concerned about the economy, rather than social issues, or foreign policy are taking a closer look at Sanders. Even Republicans like some things about Sanders economic policy, especially his determination to stop exporting jobs, while Hillary has her greatest appeal with mainstream democrats.

As Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders divide democrat voters and split the delegates, it is still far too early to call either one the winner of the primaries.

[Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images]