Michigan is Bernie Sanders’s make-or-break state

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In 2016, Michigan revived Bernie Sanders’s candidacy after a series of Super Tuesday losses. But four years later, the Democratic voters who helped Sanders win the Great Lakes state are nowhere to be found.

Sanders’s unexpected win in Michigan four years ago was an upset, and it was also an anomaly if current polling is accurate. One Detroit Free Press poll has Sanders trailing behind former Vice President Joe Biden by nearly 24 points. And the RealClearPolitics average shows Sanders winning 30% of Michigan’s vote, compared with Biden’s 55%. That’s a significant gap, and it hints that Michigan Democrats’ past support for Sanders was really just about their aversion to Hillary Clinton.

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