The conservative Wall Street Journal is warning Republicans that Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders poses a real political threat, and not just to Hillary Clinton.
Representing the moderate wing of the GOP, the Journal’s editorial board argued Tuesday night that Sanders, a democratic socialist who is still believed to be a longshot for the Democratic nomination, has quickly become a serious candidate in an unpredictable election season dominated by “extremes.”
“Mrs. Clinton remains the front-runner, and unlike in the GOP there really is a powerful Democratic establishment of unions, green lobbies and feminists that has rallied behind her,” the Journal said. “Her argument is that she has the best chance to win in November, but that case was more persuasive a year ago than it is now.”
A poll released this weekend by the Journal and NBC News showed that Sanders beats GOP front-runner Donald Trump in a hypothetical general election scenario by 15 points. The poll showed that in the same scenario, but with Clinton instead of Sanders, Clinton only wins by 10 points.
The Journal said that’s evidence that Sanders should be taken “seriously.”
“Many Republicans claim to welcome a Sanders nomination on the assumption he’d be easy to beat. But don’t be so sure, at least not this year,” the Journal said. “[I]n a campaign that has already busted normal American political conventions, the possibility of an extreme election outcome is no longer unthinkable.”
