Kellyanne Conway claimed that Bernie Sanders should be the front-runner if Democrats are looking for an electable candidate.
Conway, 53, penned an op-ed in the Washington Post critiquing the 2020 Democratic primary candidates. She claimed that Joe Biden’s self-described electability was untested and said his claim that he is the only candidate who can beat Trump is untrue. The presidential counselor suggested that Sanders was the only candidate with a proven ability to perform in swing states.
“In fact, if Democrats were serious about electability, they’d nominate the guy who actually won primary contests and proved he can play David to Goliath in key places four short years ago,” Conway wrote. “Sanders bested Clinton in 22 states in 2016, including battlegrounds such as Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota, while earning more than 13 million votes and 1,800 delegates.”
She added, “Now, with the first caucuses and primaries just weeks away, Sanders is showing strength in the polls and in fundraising, having outraised Biden last quarter, having taken the lead from Biden for the first time, and having outlasted candidates who were media darlings and more in the mold of ‘transformative’ and ‘historic.’”
Conway also jabbed Biden for not receiving any support from President Barack Obama. Biden has said he didn’t want Obama’s endorsement, but Conway wasn’t buying it, writing, “Biden lacks electricity, but owns ‘electability.’ Democratic voters are buying it, despite his shortcomings and the humiliating snub by the president he served. Barack Obama last month offered up an end-of-the-year endorsement list. It included books and movies — but not Biden.”
Trump has been building a similar defense of Sanders. He has posted several tweets claiming that the Democratic National Committee was working to rig the election against Sanders by delaying the impeachment until just before the Iowa caucuses. He claimed that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi used impeachment to free up Iowa for Biden.
Conway managed the 2016 Trump-Pence campaign to victory, making her the first woman to lead a presidential campaign successfully.
