The contest for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination features more than 20 candidates representing a wide variety of ideological orientations ranging from progressives like Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) to more moderate candidates like Gov. Steve Bullock (D-MT) and former Rep. John Delaney (D, MD-6).
The first round of debates exposed major differences among the candidates on issues such as health care and immigration, and this has led to growing concern among party leaders about whether Democratic voters will be able to unite behind the eventual nominee. Indeed, some of the more moderate candidates have warned that nominating a candidate from the party’s left wing could cause large numbers of moderate-to-conservative Democrats to stay home or even vote for Donald Trump, thereby ensuring a Republican victory.
A number of pundits and political observers have argued that concerns about potential moderate defections are well-founded because Democratic voters are sharply divided along ideological lines. They point to recent polls showing that while the large majority of Republican voters describe themselves as conservatives, fewer than half of Democratic voters describe themselves as liberals. CONT.
Alan I. Abramowitz (Emory), Sabato’s Crystal Ball