Despite being written off by Democratic Party insiders and purportedly ignored by mainstream media outlets , Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is now reportedly drawing attention from Democratic officials, political operatives, and pundits, Politico reports.
David Brock, a longtime Hillary Clinton ally, noted that Sanders — who has overtaken Elizabeth Warren for second place in polling averages — represents one side of the “ideological divide” in the Democratic Party, with front-runner Joe Biden on the other side.
“A lot of smart people I’ve talked to lately think there’s a very good chance those two end up being Biden and Sanders,” Brock said. “They’ve both proven to be very resilient.”
Politico reports that insiders are giving Sanders a second look due to both Warren’s fall in national and early state surveys, as well as the Vermont Senator’s resilience in the face of the primary’s ups and downs. This resilience is a contrast to candidates like Beto O’Rourke and Kamala Harris, who entered the race to high expectations and have now dropped out. Others, like Cory Booker, remain in the race but are struggling to hang on.
Dan Pfeiffer, who served as an adviser to former President Barack Obama, believes that Sanders is a serious contender for the nomination.
“I believe people should take him very seriously. He has a very good shot of winning Iowa, a very good shot of winning New Hampshire, and other than Joe Biden, the best shot of winning Nevada. He could build a real head of steam heading into South Carolina and Super Tuesday.”
When millions of people come together to fight for justice, we will win against Trump’s hatred and division. Thank you to the more than 14,000 people who joined our movement in Los Angeles! pic.twitter.com/XSWATXhvKB
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) December 22, 2019
Thanks to the lack of media focus on his campaign, Sanders has also managed to avoid the sustained criticism that other candidates have suffered. As The Inquisitr previously reported, The Intercept’s D.C. Bureau Chief Ryan Grim suggested that the blackout of Sanders’ campaign could be a benefit. According to Grim, most candidates face the same primary pattern: a rise, media scrutiny, and then a decline in the polls.
“But what if the media pretends you’re not rising at all?” Grim asked in a video for the publication, noting that the media often ignores Sanders’ increase in the polls.
Grim noted that this pattern of ignoring and dismissing Sanders could help the candidate skip the scrutiny phase of the primary and climb into first without facing attacks.
Michael Ceraso, who worked for both Pete Buttigieg and Sanders’ campaigns, noted that Sanders “hasn’t been hit a lot with anything,” suggesting that Grim’s analysis could be correct.
