Bernie Sanders favorable polling is "underwater" at 40-46

[NurseJackie]

Bernie Sanders favorable polling is "underwater" at 40-46 ... this means that more people DISLIKE him than actually LIKE him. It's not that they like someone else better than him (though obviously, that's probably a given) it's that MORE people actively dislike Sanders compared to the number of people who say they like him. Wow. That helps to explain a lot about where we are today and the recent polling that we've seen coming out of Michigan and other "battleground states".

Link to tweet

Joy Reid
@JoyAnnReid
·
14h
Here's the full QPoll, which has:

Biden over Trump 52-41

Sanders over Trump 49-42

Biden viewed favorably 45-40

Sanders favs under water at 40-46

and Trump way under at 39-58

March 9, 2020 - Biden Crushes Sanders In Democratic Race, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; More Disapprove Of Trump's Response To Coronavirus

[bearsfootball516]

1. Biden essentially puts the primary on ice tonight.

After he wins Michigan, there's no path to the nomination for Bernie.

[llmart]

6. +1

I'm fairly confident Joe has Michigan. Can't wait for this nastiness to be over. For me it will always be about how Bernie wouldn't put the "D" after his name until he wanted us to vote for him for President. That just doesn't sit well with me and with lots of others.

[greymattermom]

10. I'm one of those.

I keep saying it's like running for president of a congregation without joining the church.

[William769]

27. +1

[subana]

17. it doesn't sit well with me either!

& hasn't for a long time!

& yet I'm sure he'll still campaign until the convention, even though there is no chance of gaining anything! Just like Tulsi, he will continue his campaign even though he has no shot of winning!

[llmart]

58. You know, Trump isn't the only narcissist.

Yes, Trump is a malignant narcissist but listening to Bernie, I sometimes think he has NPD also. He sure likes the sound of his own voice.

[subana]

60. I think he is too

it's not as obvious as donnie but I still see some of the signs.

[gollygee]

2. Bernie's whole campaign is very negative

It isn't even mainly him. It's people speaking for him. I have friends who are outright hostile to anyone who doesn't want to vote for Bernie today (I'm in Michigan). I'm so tired of negativity and hostility, and it's very much not what our country needs.

[TexasTowelie]

3. Did you get the subject line of your post correct?

[gollygee]

4. No I didn't! Fixed - thanks! nt

[TexasTowelie]

5. I did a double-take on that one

and you're welcome.

[getagrip_already]

7. I don't like Bernie as a person, though I do like some of his policies....

Not all, and not all as he has proposed them. But I'm not a policy hater.

I just see too much trump in him and his actions.

[NurseJackie]

8. That's a common criticism... that he lacks the temperament and demeanor to be President and,

That's a common criticism... that he lacks the temperament and demeanor to be President and, the leader of the Free World. A true leader shows respect to others, doesn't interrupt, and makes an effort to listen and understand... to find common ground... to cooperate and compromise... to be friendly and engage in a civil give-and-take... and someone who understands that you don't always get what you want, and that letting the opposition have a "win" (or partial win) is what it takes so that our side can also have a "win" or partial win, and there is no honor in walking away with nothing based on pure stubbornness. In fact, anyone's inability to understand that "incremental progress" is STILL progress, well, that just means that for vanity purposes, they are maintaining the status quo simply out of spite.

[True Blue American]

12. Maybe this should not be said, but

Comparing Joe Biden’s early life as a Father with Bernie’s I have my answer. You can disagree if you like.

[NurseJackie]

14. That's an important consideration. Things like that are valuable clues to a man's character.

[True Blue American]

44. To me it is

The most important reveal of a Man’s character. You can cover a lot but not that.

[subana]

22. "incremental progress" is STILL progress

this is so true! And it's a trend that both parties now are struggling with. During Obama's administrations, the right's reaction to losing the presidency, House & Senate was to go even further right by creating the tea party. They seemed to want everything they wanted & refused to settle for less. Politics doesn't work that way. No one gets everything they want (in politics) all of the time & it was unrealistic to think that could work.

Then after 2016, some in the democratic party seemed to want the same thing by going further left. That's not a strategy for winning an election or for attracting new people to support your policies! Some of these ideas are interesting but if a majority of voters don't agree with you, there's no chance you are going to be successful, no matter how much you want it!

The country has been very polarized for a long time. Republicans always tend to vote for other republicans & democrats tend to vote for other democrats. The people who decide elections nowadays are moderates & you're not going to win their support by becoming more extreme on either side. A refusal to compromise with the other side is not going to help you in the end.

[grantcart]

9. Sen Sanders has a one time opportunity to go out on top

[NurseJackie]

13. Well, that's one way of looking at it. I had not considered that at all.

I guess there's a silver lining after all.

[SidDithers]

11. DU rec...nt

Sid

[spicysista]

15. Sanders COULD turn all of this around....

Once Joe finishes on top tonight, Bernie could calmly exit the race. He could say this process wasn't rigged against him and that everyone whom supports his agenda should now support Joe. Making a move like that would go a long way with voters like me.

[NurseJackie]

16. I agree. Is he selfless? Does he care more about the party and nation than for his own campaign?

I agree. Is he selfless? Does he care more about the party and nation than for his own campaign? --- These are legitimate questions that people have been asking for a long time. I think we deserve honest answers. It's one final opportunity for the Bernie Sanders campaign to do something right.

[spicysista]

18. NurseJackie, I'm hoping that in this case....

Past is not prologue. I am hoping that he will not take weeks to endorse our nominee and really campaign in earnest for our candidate. I would love for him to pleasantly surprise us all.
He also needs to get a handle on his supporters ( "fans" is probably the most accurate term).

[NurseJackie]

20. Yes indeed. Did you know that "fan" comes from the word "fanatic"?

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fanatic

Interesting, no?

[spicysista]

35. Very interesting, indeed.😉 n.t.

[karynnj]

55. From his 2016 comments during the late primaries, to him there is something between self and party

He then argued that he had to stay in to the end to allow everyone believing in his "revolution" to vote for it. Then after the primaries, his goal was to impact the party platform - which he did. He might see his actions as being true to his decades old beliefs that he now sees as having fueled "a revolution".

Sadly, if it were just selfishness, Joe Biden could likely win his complete support as soon as it was clear that Biden was the defacto winner. Biden through praise of what Sanders has accomplished and a vague promise that Sanders be someone he would listen to (though not always agree) as President. As it is, no one was friendlier to Sanders on the debate stage than Biden - a tribute to Biden's kind personality. (Think the hug when Hillary's no one likes him came up.)

Because it is fiercely ideological and very very deeply held, the only lever is that Bernie himself has said that the country could not deal with 4 more years. At some point, Bernie needs to transition between fighting for his plans - no matter how deeply ingrained in his psyche they are - to making the case that even if Biden is not what the revolution wants he is far better than Trump -- and, in fact, he is moving in the direction Sanders is.

At this point, Sanders and his supporters may still see that they could win - even though Nate Silver and others place his chances as very very low. First remember that just two weeks ago, before SC and even 2 days later before ST, the common wisdom was that he could easily emerge from ST with an unstoppable margin. Looking back at past elections, it has taken many candidates some time to accept that it really is over and they will not be the nominee.

I have noticed that Biden has been very careful in what he criticizes Sanders on. I suspect that this is not just his niceness, but a long career knowing that you want opponents to become allies and that is far easier than if they have not attacked in a personal devastating way. Biden is clearly not matching Sanders and his paid team in negativity. It would harm Biden - now and later - to do this when Biden is probably on the verge of a big victory.

[NCProgressive]

25. Sanders is not a gracious loser - never has been

His ego and anger will not let him be nice.

If he does overcome them, he'll have some of my respect back.

[spicysista]

42. You may be right, NCProgressive.

I'm still holding on to a small bit of hope. Until he suggested challenging President Obama, I actually liked him. I thought he was a bit quirky and kind of cantankerous, like a few of my grand uncles. I'm praying he has seen the light this time and will do the right thing. 🙏

[True Blue American]

49. We already have

A cantankerous fool in the WhiteHouse. Do not need another Narcisstic occupant.

[True Blue American]

47. I am not going to jump

The gun but I will say if it becomes apparent who is winning I would love to see a gracious winner, just like Pete, Kamala, Cory, Mike and all the others who know how important it is to stand behind our Democratic candidate.

Nothing is worse than a sore loser.

[spicysista]

50. Amen, to that.

[FakeNoose]

19. In every Democratic debate, Bernie is the angry old man scolding everybody

I'm not saying that he doesn't have his good points, because he certainly does. But he turns everybody off with his constant scolding, angry demeanor and most people don't even want to listen to him. Who wants that for the next 4 years? The fact that he refuses to join our Party is what ices it for me.

[True Blue American]

51. I noticed that in 2016.

It seems to be worse this time around.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

21. Wow...showing trump approval at 39? Or what

Does that "trump way under" refer to? I glanced through doc and didn't see. Saw 41% approval?

[NCProgressive]

23. People finally caught up on Sanders

The "Joe has dementia" meme was the last straw.

[NurseJackie]

24. So, I guess at this point, Bernie has decided to not release the full medical reports?

(I wonder if that is something that contributed to his campaign's complete IMPLOSION and COLLAPSE.)

[NCProgressive]

26. They are hiding his medical records as fiercely as Trump is hiding his tax returns.

[NurseJackie]

29. That's not a good look...

... and not a good sign. I think many voters interpreted that type of behavior as being a clue that there was "something to hide". There was also speculation from reasonable individuals that someone in the campaign concluded that the "fallout" from NOT releasing them was somehow less damaging than ACTUALLY releasing them.

I wonder if that theory has merit. It certainly makes a lot of sense and seems to be quite logical.

[onetexan]

28. i'm more of the impression that it's not BS personally, but more so that Dems reject his platform

of democratic socialism. As someone posted several weeks ago, you don't talk about remodeling when your house is on fire. The country is on fire right now, and the huge number of votes for Biden is a decisive rebuke of Bernie's campaign.

Given the dire straits we're in Americans want someone who can kick the Idiot out of the WH and restore us to normalcy. There are many more reasons why to not go with Bernie, but on the questions of electability alone, it's clear Dems don't believe Bernie is the candidate who can do this.

[NYMinute]

30. It's what happens when a once favorite dish is kept in the freezer for too long....

[TexasTowelie]

31. But I was told many times on DU

that Bernie was the most popular active politician in the country.

[NurseJackie]

32. Wasn't that an absolute RIOT! Oh, my... how his fans loved to CLING to that poll of Vermonters.

Wasn't that an absolute RIOT! Oh, my... how his fans loved to CLING to that poll of Vermonters. They'd twist it and misquote it and use deliberately ambiguous wording to make it seem like BS was the most popular politician in the entire nation. When it reality, it was simply "most popular among his own Vermont constituents".

This, of course, helped to illustrate and prove my belief that it's VERY EASY for a politician to be "liked" and "approved of" when one lives in a VERY demographically homogeneous state like Vermont that has so little ethnic diversity. When almost everyone is "the same" and when almost everyone has nearly identical needs and values and backstories... then the challenge to keep people happy and content is one that's much easier overall.

[True Blue American]

52. The proof is in the pudding.

Watch how your fellow workers come out and back you.

Even Lindsey she’d tears saying what a wonderful human being Biden was until he fell off the turnip truck.or onto it!

[Johnny2X2X]

33. Big news of this poll is head to head vs Trump

Biden crushes him 52-41.

Biden is going to win in all the places that Hillary should have.

[whopis01]

40. I think it is also significant

that Sanders, with an unfavorable rating, when put head to head vs Trump.

I think that Biden is the better choice. But I am encouraged to see that even the unfavorable Democratic candidate is still 9 points ahead of Trump.

[PubliusEnigma]

36. I can understand why after watching Bernie screaming at Cuomo last night.

[whopis01]

37. It is encouraging that a candidate who is view as unfavorable by 46 to 40

still beats Trump by 9 points.

[NurseJackie]

38. You make an interesting point. That doesn't bode well for Trump, does it?

[whopis01]

41. No it doesn't.

Hopefully it will hold all the way through the election.

As we learned last time, merely being ahead in the votes is not enough. We need to have a crushing defeat of Trump to ensure that we get the electoral college, avoid third party interference, and gain seats down ballot.

[TwilightZone]

56. Agreed.

It indicates that even though their numbers are similar, voters want Trump out. Good sign for November.

[honest.abe]

39. Sanders has done more harm than good to the progressive movement.

I am probably classified as a left leaning moderate but I always took seriously those that pushed for more progressive liberal thinking. Now with what Bernie and his supporters have done in the past 4 years, makes me not trust people who think that way. Bernie was clearly the wrong messenger. Hopefully someone new will come along to restore respect and trust in the progressive left movement.

[stonecutter357]

43. K&R

[James48]

45. Sadly, I'm pretty sure Biden will not win

I’m a Bernie supporter.

Come November, I will indeed vote blue, no matter who, but it floors me that so many here think Biden is going to be able to surpass Trump.

I’m pretty positive Bernie can.

I’m very doubtful Joe can.

I wish him all the best, but you all seem to think it’s already over, when I really don’t think it is, and I think Joe will have an uphill battle.

[LanternWaste]

46. What specifically leads you to allege that?

Objective data, wish-fulfillment, or merely bias?

[tman]

53. Bernie had a big problem with African American voters

What makes you think they will come out in massive numbers if he is the nominee? Because that's the only way our side wins in november. We'll need strong AA turnout as a major part of the Obama coalition.

This is what tells me Joe is the strongest nominee, but neither man is even close to perfect.

Also, if Biden is as weak as you say, and Bernie can't even beat Joe among Democrats or even boost youth turnout, what does that tell us about Bernie's strengths?

[TwilightZone]

57. Not sure how that works.

You're sure Bernie can win. Biden does better against Trump head-to-head, both nationally and in swing states, and his approval ratings are significant higher than Sanders'. Biden has also shown that he, not Sanders, can motivate new voters, as he's shown in multiple states this primary cycle.

But you think he can't win.

Not sure how the logic works there.

[duforsure]

48. I think Bernie has to face the truth very soon,

If tonight doesn't go we'll. he needs to accept he won't win , and end his run to get all his supports for Biden, and a lot earlier this time or risk losing their support moving to Joe Biden. It's very, very close to that point now.

[Happy Hoosier]

54. I used to have a basically favorable opinion of Bernie.

I mean, I never supported his candidacy as I always thought he was an ineffectual gadfly, but I liked him in the way I liked my old Sociology profs.

But 2016 and now 2020 have destroyed that for me. He is petty, mean, and self-obsessed. He's now the dude that gets up at every town meeting and rants for 2 hours about the time the trash trucks come by. I just want him to shut up, sit down, and let the serious people get shit done.

[thesquanderer]

59. Nice turnaround for Joe. First time Quinnipiac has had him net positive in favorables since last May

https://poll.qu.edu/images/polling/us/us03092020_untz23.pdf