A while ago, we covered the 2020 presidential election in the US, a comment on that article inspired this one. The comment read, “Bernie Sanders will win 2020, hands down.” This didn’t cause as much controversy as I’d first assumed, but I wanted to address this.
Sanders is much like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a populist and a socialist. In fact, they both belong to the same party- the Democratic Socialist Party.
It’s likely that 2020 will see Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren or Joe Biden against President Trump.
Most people assume that AOC will be Sanders’ running mate. Although, it must be stated that she has denied this as of yet. AOC has also formerly endorsed Sanders in his 2020 race.
But what are Bernie Sanders’ chances?
Sanders will face up against Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren in his own party. However, Sanders will also face up against the incumbent President Trump.
As stated earlier, Sanders is part of the Democratic Socialist Party- a sub party of the Democratic Party. Sanders was known for a while as a radical- his views were very ‘red’ as one reporter put it.
He first gained recognition when he was 39- he was elected mayor when Reagan was in office.
He has repeatedly campaigned on ‘social equality’ with his socialist views. This made him ostracised in the political communities of America.
But now, things have changed, socialism has become more accepted in America. High amounts of student debt and a lack of employment has lead many to become socialist. Bernie Sanders has seen this, and he has capitalised on it.
But will he win?
Bernie Sanders may have the support, but he doesn’t have too much support. Most campaigns rely on contributions, whilst some of that may come from independent sources, most comes from corporate sources.
Sanders has an anti-corporation rhetoric that leaves most corporations unwilling to contribute. Since, Sanders isn’t independently wealthy himself, and independent contributions only go so far, his campaign will struggle.
This is also his third time running, he has never been president before, whereas his main opposition is. Many have drawn similarities between Bernie and Hillary Clinton.
- They’re both democratic candidates
- They’ve ran three times all to no avail
- They’re both US senators at the time that they are running
- They’re both “progressives”
Although Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton are on opposite sides of the Democratic spectrum.
Will Sanders win the presidency?
Short answer: no, long answer, still no. Bernie Sanders just doesn’t have the backing yet. His fervent anti-corporation rhetoric has led to a lack of campaign contributions.
In the next election cycle (2024) I could see him winning. After all, more Millennials and Generation Z’s will be able to vote. These are the same generations that are out of work with hundreds of thousands of dollars of student debt.
I hope you enjoyed this article on Bernie Sanders, and how he will not be president in 2020. I’m curious, do you agree? Why or why not? I’d love to know in the comments!