Sen. Bernie Sanders should not run for president in 2020, the editorial board for the Barre Montpelier Times Argus argues.
A run by the Vermont congressman, “risks dividing the well-fractured Democratic Party, and could lead to another split in the 2020 presidential vote," said the Vermont newspaper. "There is too much at stake to take that gamble. If we are going to maintain a two-party system, the mandate needs to be a clear one.”
The editorial board also expressed concerns about the campaign taking away from Sanders' ability to properly represent Vermont, noting that in his previous run for the presidency, he missed dozens of important votes and that “you are more likely to catch Sanders on Colbert, CNN or MSNBC than you are to see him talking to reporters here in Vermont.”
The editorial board added it was not satisfied by Sanders’ reaction to allegations that his 2016 campaign staff did not treat women properly, saying his explanation that he was too busy during his run for the presidency to be aware of such claims was “inexcusable and insulting.”
In a Des Moines Register/CNN/Mediacom poll of likely Iowa caucus goers released last month, Sanders finished second to former vice president Joe Biden among Democratic choices for president.
Biden received 32 percent in the survey, while Sanders had 19 percent. Beto O’Rourke was the only other name to receive double-digit support, at 11 percent.