Bernie Sanders made the case that he would have a better chance than Democratic rival Hillary Clinton of beating the Republicans come November.
“People often say you’re running against an inevitable candidate … you can’t win,” Sanders said while speaking to supporters in Dodge, Iowa. “When we started we were at 3 percent in the polls, we were 50 points behind. Today the inevitable candidate doesn’t look as inevitable as she did eight and a half months ago.”
Sanders made the comment at this first of four stops in a jam-packed day in Iowa, as he campaigns across the state to surpass Clinton in the last two weeks before the caucus. In recent polls, Sanders has edged out Clinton in Iowa and he remains ahead of the front-runner in New Hampshire.
On the campaign trail, many pundits and voters alike have questioned Sanders’ electability, as his democratic socialist message is further to the left than any other politician in the race.
“Then there’s the argument that Secretary Clinton’s been putting on the air; that Secretary Clinton is the only candidate who can beat right-wing Republicans,” Sanders said, citing polls in which he beats Donald Trump by a larger margin than Clinton. “It’s not true that she’s the strongest candidate to beat Trump and the others.”
Sanders also claimed that his campaign is generating more enthusiasm than Clinton’s, which will help him “retain a large voter turnout in November” and help him beat the GOP.
“So anyone who tells you that Bernie can not win … that is not true,” Sanders bellowed. “If you want someone who is going to beat Donald Trump, beat the other Republicans, Bernie Sanders is that candidate.”
