Democrats struggle with how directly to knock Sanders
Former Vice President
“I don’t think you win votes doing that," Biden said Monday in
Across the state in
“My focus is on the fact that my campaign is in the best position to beat Donald Trump,” Buttigieg told reporters when asked whether he believes Sanders would lose a general election. “My focus — while reporters, I'm sure, are eager to get me to do otherwise — is to remain as focused as possible on my own campaign.”
Sanders has long identified as a democratic socialist, and the prospect that he could win the caucuses and gain momentum heading into later contests has alarmed the establishment wing of the Democratic Party. But that anxiety was hard to detect on the campaign trail as Biden and Buttigieg, two of the leading moderate candidates, declined to take him head-on, opting instead to speak about the need to unify the party and the urgency of beating Trump.
That's frustrating to those who would like to see the candidates take a stronger stand.
“It is shocking that no one besides us and a handful of others are willing to say what is evidently true, which is that he is a front-runner to win, and if he wins it's going to be incredibly hard to beat Trump and hang onto our House majority,” said
A Sanders nomination is far from a sure thing. A
That position presents a delicate challenge for Biden and Buttigieg, who know that Sanders will be emboldened if he wins the
While they largely avoided talking about Sanders during campaign events, the moderate candidates displayed less reluctance to knock Sanders in appeals to potential donors. Shortly after his comments to reporters Monday, Buttigieg's campaign issued a fundraising plea, warning of Sanders’ strength and declaring, “we risk nominating a candidate who cannot beat
Biden’s campaign also sent a fundraising solicitation citing Sanders’ strength: “We’re on the cusp of taking the lead in
Biden's campaign has doubled down in recent weeks on the argument that he is the best-positioned Democrat to defeat Trump and help the party in down-ballot races. But his aides and supporters insist their strategy isn't explicitly about Sanders.
“I think people are thinking about electability more,” said
Another candidate,
While Sanders is “the local favorite,” Bloomberg joked, he argued that his business experience made him the strongest candidate and dismissed the senator's calls for a political revolution.
“In terms of a lot of people who think this country should evolve rather than have a revolution, I would be their choice," Bloomberg said.
Attacking Sanders has proven difficult. He and Warren had a sort of non-aggression pact until she alleged recently that Sanders had told her privately in 2018 that a woman cannot win the presidency in 2020. Sanders disputes that account. Warren sticks by it, but raising the matter hasn’t noticeably propelled her in the race.
Still, Sanders' campaign seemed to be readying for a counterstrike over the weekend, preemptively warning supporters that, as New York Rep.
“I don't even know what's gonna happen," she said. “And that's why we've gotta stay focused and committed as possible.”
Documentary filmmaker
“His main rivals will need to engage if they want to stop him because, in a primary, he’s unlikely to be a candidate who defeats himself,” he said.
Some Democratic voters think Biden or Buttigieg will have to soon make their case more explicitly.
“Eventually I think Biden is going to have to, because maybe in the end they may end up the last two standing,” said
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