How seriously will the national media treat a Sen. Bernie Sanders bid for the White House? Just seriously enough to make the Democratic primary appear to be a horse race, if reports ahead of Sanders’ expected announcement are any indication.
That Sanders, I-Vt., is a long shot for the nomination — he polls nationally at around 6 percent nationally, according to RealClearPolitics — is something acknowledged by much of the press. The only openly socialist senator indicated that he is running in an interview with Associated Press Wednesday. He is expected to issue a press release about his candidacy Thursday and make a formal announcement in his home state of Vermont in May.
“If Sanders is campaigning in Iowa and New Hampshire, we’ll most likely cover it — via a campaign embed [reporter] or local affiliate,” said a source at a national TV news outlet, who was not authorized to speak publicly about his network’s campaign coverage plans. “Will it be as much coverage as Hillary Clinton or [likely Republican presidential candidates] Jeb Bush or Scott Walker get? No. But when you’re covering a presidential race, you have to cover all of it — or as much as you can.”
News outlets do, however, expect Sanders to have a significant impact on the race, which so far only includes Hillary Clinton as an official candidate.
“While considered a long shot for the Democratic nomination, Mr. Sanders could be another voice drawing Mrs. Clinton to the left because of his progressive views on trade, healthcare and corporate lobbying,” said the New York Times on Tuesday.
The Washington Post wrote that Sanders would be “a direct foil to Clinton.”
An Associated Press report said Sanders’ announcement would place him as “a liberal challenge to Hillary Rodham Clinton.”
Other than Clinton’s status as the current favorite to win the nomination, Sanders could also be challenged by the label he has given himself: socialist.
That seemingly toxic title could be partially helpful with the Democratic base. A 2012 Gallup poll showed that Democratic and Democratic-leaning adults are split on whether they view the term “socialism” as positive or negative.
Clinton is viewed as a moderate Democrat in the vein of her husband, former President Bill Clinton. In the early days of her campaign, however, she has attempted to strike a populist tone in an effort to woo the progressive wing of her party.
