As Sanders Surges In Iowa, Moderate Democrats Worry He'll Win The Nomination

With the Iowa Democrat caucuses just one week away, polling continues to show Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., pulling ahead of his peers. But as he does so, some moderate Democrats worry Sanders may actually claim the presidential nomination this time around – and are debating if and how they should try to stop him.

New polling from Emerson College places Sanders nine points ahead of former Vice President Joe Biden. It also shows that Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., has slipped to fourth as Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., jumps to third.

The senator from Vermont is also polling at the top in New Hampshire, which is set to primary on Feb. 11.

Sanders has been enjoying a campaign surge since the end of last year, when he was able to boast the largest fundraising quarter of any Democrat by a large margin with $34.5 million in donations. Polling has also shown Sanders grappling with Biden for the top spot nationally. Meanwhile, polls pitting Democrats head-to-head with President Donald Trump show Sanders winning by the largest amount.

With Sanders’ rising popularity becoming a mounting concern for the moderate parts of the Democratic Party, some are now worrying that, as was the case with Trump and Republicans during 2016, Democrats are ignoring Sanders’ viability which may let him eventually run away with the nomination and the party.

When it comes to Sanders, much of the concern is whether the self-proclaimed democratic socialist will be able to win over swing voters in crucial battleground states come November.

Rahm Emanuel, the former Obama chief of staff and mayor of Chicago, told Politico he believes that Sanders’ strategy, like Trump’s, relies “on the notion of a higher turnout of infrequent voters” rather than appealing to undecided voters. Because of this, Sanders will struggle in certain key states, Emanuel said.

There is also worry that a Sanders nomination will hurt other Democrats on competitive ballots, as his progressive policies may prove to be a turn off for moderate, independent voters.

Moderate Democrats are in a bind, however, as any push against Sanders could result in a dangerous backlash that may ultimately do more harm and cause more divisiveness within the party. This became clear last week, after former 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton was quoted as saying that “nobody likes” Sanders while implying he’s guilty of holding sexist views. Although Sanders himself shrugged her comments off, Clinton faced a great deal of pushback from within the party, including from Democratic candidates.

While moderate Democrats may have to concede Iowa and New Hampshire to Sanders, it remains to be seen whether there will be a movement to put an end to Sanders’ momentum going forward.