Supporters of U.S. Senator of Vermont Bernie Sanders at a town meeting at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona. Photo: Gage Skidmore | FlickrCC.
Iowa and New Hampshire are important states on the campaign trail for presidential hopefuls. These states hold their primaries early, meaning they can get a ball rolling for anyone who wins them. And lately, that’s looking like Bernie Sanders for the Democrats. Recent polls by Quinnipiac and Monmouth Universities give him 9- and 14-point leads over Hillary Clinton in those respective states.
According to Vice President Joe Biden, part of Sander’s motivation is due to his focus on income inequality in America. It’s no secret that a tiny minority of people control the vast majority of wealth in this country and that more and more people are struggling each year. Clinton has started addressing the issue recently, but Sanders has been dealing with the issue since he entered politics, which gives him an authenticity that others can’t match.
Sanders is running as a Democrat but until this election season he has always represented Vermont as an Independent. He considers himself a Democratic Socialist, a stance that has traditionally kept him out of the limelight in federal politics but is at the core of his platform. It’s a European political model, one that has seen a lot of success there in the last century or so, and is predicated on the idea that capitalism tempered with socialism is the best path for democracies to follow.
Until recently, Sanders wouldn’t have stood much of a chance of getting the presidential nomination, but he speaks to a lot of issues that other politicians ignore. There are lots of important things that need to be addressed, but the economic underpinnings of the country, and how that economy affects people throughout the United States, are hugely important. Younger voters, especially millennials, understand income inequality firsthand, something that many older, established voters don’t get.
If he can keep this momentum, and it seems like he can, Sanders should have a good shot at the presidency.
