Abbreviated Pundit Round-up: Campaign challenges in 2016
For years, conservatives have accused Democrats of being socialists. And for years, liberals have accused Republicans of being fascists. It’s never been true — until maybe now, when there is an actual democratic socialist in the 2016 presidential race, along with a Republican whom many, including some in his own party, say borders on fascistic.
While Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders could not be farther apart ideologically, both have built nontraditional movements around their presidential candidacies by appealing to some of the same disaffected voters, those who appreciate blunt talk and an anti-establishment message.
Now, Sanders and his aides are making a direct attempt to woo at least some would-be Trump fans away from the dark side of populism, especially in New Hampshire, which has an open primary system that allows even a small number of independent voters to make a big impact.
There are few titles in American democracy as privileged as “undeclared New Hampshire voter.”
Presidential candidates obsess over them. Operatives tailor advertisements to their whims. And in an election season more volatile than any campaign is likely to have imagined, the state’s electoral free agents here are beginning to grapple with how to exercise their unusual power to control the fates of candidates in either party.
About 40 percent of the New Hampshire electorate is independent (officially called undeclared) — a greater voter share than either party can boast — and is allowed to participate in either primary.
And their choices could be decisive for two very different candidates,Donald J. Trump and Senator Bernie Sanders, who are counting on independent support to win the state.
The above is Bernie’s challenge: the ‘undeclared’ voter just might find the GOP NH primary more interesting:
Early indications suggest that independents are being drawn to the turbulent Republican race, where the large number of candidates can give these voters an outsize role in the outcome of the Feb. 9 primary and shape the contest beyond.
Generally, you win in NH with a greater share of your party + indies. The D winner will not only need to win their party, they have to convince the unregistered to vote D and not R. Here, Bernie and Hillary are not on equal footing. Bernie must win in NH, and Hillary doesn’t have to.