Response to the argument that "Sanders voters" put Trump in office.

[Jim Lane]

115. Another data question

Some Clinton supporters, zealous to bash Bernie, have charged that his criticisms of Clinton during the primary campaign cost her the general election. Presumably the argument is that there were progressives who, after a humdrum nonideological nomination fight, would have voted for Clinton, however unenthusiastically, but after the actual campaign refused to vote for her because Bernie's criticisms had alienated them from her.

I've never seen any data on that one, either.

It's hard to get a good handle on a "what if" that never happened. (In this case, the hypothetical is that Clinton was nominated after a comparatively dull and uneventful campaign like Gore versus Bradley in 2000.)

My gut feeling is that the people whom Bernie brought into the process, and who then voted for Clinton, outnumber those who would have voted for her but for Bernie's campaign. I don't know of any hard data on either score, though. Like you, I'd be interested in reading anything on the point that goes beyond mere gut feelings.