Democrats are worried if Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., does not win the party's presidential nomination this time around, he will act as a spoiler to the eventual nominee, especially if it turns out to be former Vice President Joe Biden, the current front-runner.
"I think Bernie will do everything in his power to elevate himself by pushing others down," an unnamed aide to a Democratic senator told The Hill about Sanders, I-Vt., while another aide said there are concerns Sanders will "play spoiler" again like he did in 2016 with nominee Hillary Clinton.
Some Democrats have blamed Sanders for Clinton's loss to President Donald Trump, saying he did not do enough to get his supporters behind her, and he stayed in the primary race for too long.
However, Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif, who is co-chairing Sanders' campaign, dismissed the thought his candidate will be a spoiler, as he "has a very good chance" of becoming the nominee himself.
"His support is remarkably stable and he continues to attract huge crowds," Khanna said. "If he's not the nominee, just like anyone who's not the nominee, I guarantee you he and people around him will go all-in to support whoever the nominee is."
Ben Tulchin, Sanders' campaign pollster, said Sanders' main goal is to beat Trump, and if he is not chosen as the nominee he will get behind whomever Democrats choose.
Sanders' support has been dropping since Biden entered the race. According to a Morning Consult poll earlier this month, the senator's support went from 45% in March to 33% in May.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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