General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Meet Bernie Sanders' 2018 challenger [View all]Jim Lane
(11,175 posts)You assume that this Svitavsky character will be on the general-election ballot as the Democratic nominee. That's extremely unlikely.
From Bernie's Wikipedia bio, this account of his first Senate race:
Sanders entered the race for the U.S. Senate on April 21, 2005, after Senator Jim Jeffords announced that he would not seek a fourth term. Chuck Schumer, chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, endorsed Sanders, a critical move as it meant that no Democrat running against Sanders could expect to receive financial help from the party. Sanders was also endorsed by Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and Democratic National Committee chairman and former Vermont governor Howard Dean. Dean said in May 2005 that he considered Sanders an ally who "votes with the Democrats 98% of the time".[112] Then-Senator Barack Obama also campaigned for Sanders in Vermont in March 2006.[113] Sanders entered into an agreement with the Democratic Party, much as he had as a congressman, to be listed in their primary but to decline the nomination should he win, which he did.[114][115]
(end excerpt)
Again in 2012, Bernie won the Democratic primary.
I predict that the Democrats in Vermont, not being consumed by irrational bitterness toward Bernie and not interested in refighting the 2016 primaries, will give Bernie an overwhelming primary victory against Svitavsky and anyone else who runs. (Wasn't that Giordano guy planning to move from Mexico to Vermont so that he could fight the good fight? Maybe instead he'll get on the Svitavsky bandwagon.) I further predict that Bernie, having declined the Democratic nomination and having appeared on the November ballot only as an independent, will win re-election in a landslide.