'No one went for a knockout blow': Inside Bernie's campaign nosedive [View all]

[JoeOtterbein]

Politico

Many of Sanders’ aides and top allies are convinced they should have gone for Biden’s jugular.

By HOLLY OTTERBEIN

04/10/2020 07:28 PM EDT

It was late February, and Bernie Sanders was days away from the most important debate of his political career.

The Vermont senator had finally clawed his way to the top of the presidential primary after winning New Hampshire and crushing the field in Nevada. His closest rival, Joe Biden, was reeling. Moderate Democrats were terrified Sanders could win the nomination, and the target on his back was bigger than ever before.

Two of Sanders’ top advisers — pollster Ben Tulchin and speechwriter David Sirota — told Sanders that he should pointedly take on Biden at the Feb. 25 debate in South Carolina, which the former vice president saw as his firewall state. They also said Sanders should use billionaire Mike Bloomberg as a foil, and attack him over his record of supporting stop-and-frisk, in order to deflect from the onslaught he would no doubt face as the newly anointed frontrunner.

The stakes were high: In an email to senior staff, Tulchin said that moderate voters were beginning to unify behind Biden and that the consolidation would intensify if he won South Carolina, according to people familiar with the message.

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