Chris Stirewalt: Why a Sanders nomination would concern Trump, mean a 'wipe-out' for suburban Dems
Fox News Politics Digital Editor Chris Stirewalt said that he believes Trump's 2020 campaign would be 'a little bit more concerned' about Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., as the Democratic nominee.
Fox News Digital Politics Editor Chris Stirewalt said Wednesday that while President Trump's campaign is concerned about the possibility of "wild card" Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., winning the Democratic nomination, such an event would likely lead to a "wipe-out" for suburban Democrats in November.
Stirewalt reacted to a Politico report that the president's re-election team is huddling with a game plan to counter Sanders with just five days to go before the Iowa caucuses, the first contest in the presidential nominating calendar.
Stirewalt told "America's Newsroom" host Sandra Smith that the Democratic race is starting to shake out after being in "theoretical mode for a long time."
BIDEN, SANDERS BATTLE FOR TOP STOP IN LATEST IOWA POLL
"People are dialing in now -- late -- and it's clear you've got two standard-bearers, right?" Stirewalt asked. "You've got Joe Biden for the moderate wing of the Democratic Party and you've got Bernie Sanders for the socialist, progressive wing of the Democratic Party. And, it's clear that they are the guys in what looks now to be a two-man race."
January 22-27, 2020 Quinnipiac University Poll
A new Quinnipiac University national poll of Democratic voters and leaners shows Biden leading Sanders by just five percentage points with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., in third place, six percentage points behind Sanders.
Stirewalt told Smith that sometimes the interests of a presidential candidate and the interest of their party diverge and this "this is one of those cases."
"If I was Donald Trump, I would probably ... be a little more concerned in a way about Bernie Sanders because he is a wild card. And, he is appealing to the same voters who hate the establishment, who are angry, who don't like big business, who don't like the government -- all kinds of stuff with the same, sort of, working-class white voters," he warned. "There is a weird similarity there that could make things more challenging."
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"But if you're a Republican," Stirewalt added, "the prospect of running against Bernie Sanders is exactly what you want because Bernie Sanders means 'wipe-out' for Democrats in the suburbs. It means destruction for Democrats in the House districts and Senate races where they've been making gains with more affluent, college-educated, white voters in the suburbs."
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