Here's What Bernie Sanders' Unexpected Michigan Win Says About Hillary Clinton
The Michigan voters have spoken. And, if you were sleeping on it, you might want to know that Bernie Sanders actually had it over Hillary Clinton 50 percent to 48 percent.
Polls Had it All Wrong
If there's one thing we could glean from the unexpected Michigan upset is that polling results are not etched in stone. Polls must be taken with a grain of salt, especially after they had us believing that Hillary would come out as the big winner in the state's primary election with most polling results giving it an average of at least 20 percentage points over Sanders.
"I want to take this opportunity to thank the people of Michigan, who repudiated the polls that had us 25 points down a few days ago, and repudiated the pundits who said Bernie Sanders is not going anywhere," Sanders told his supporters. "What we have done is created the kind of momentum that we need to win."
What Sanders' Surprising Win Means for Hillary
But there are other takeaways, particularly those that favor Sanders camp that could help bolster their claim that the race is far from over, never mind Hillary still having a comfortable margin despite Tuesday's shocker.
For one, it seems like some of the ghosts of former President Bill Clinton's past administration could be haunting Hillary's campaign. Sanders's Michigan win was backed by a good number of the white working-class voters.
The state's manufacturing industry was adversely hit by the trade deals, taking away numerous jobs in the process. These trade agreements, such as the NAFTA, were approved during the former president's term and were strongly opposed by Sanders.
"The Beltway elite may never have really understood why job-killing trade deals are such a big deal," said Dan Cantor, national director of the Working Families Party, which has endorsed Sanders. "But the people of Michigan surely do, and Bernie Sanders does too."
The victory for the Vermont senator also highlighted a chink in the armor of Hillary like her rival's strong appeal among young voters. Sanders won the Michigan primary, thanks in part to his 81 percent victory among the 18- to 29-year-olds. He also had strong support among the independent voters, winning by 43 percentage points. Both the youth and independent demographics have a strong voter turnout.
Hillary won the black voters ahead of the Tuesday voting, particularly in the Southern states. Sanders won less than 20 percent of them but took 28 percent of the black voters in Michigan. This could cast a doubt whether Hillary can really win the black voters in the North as much as she did in the South.
While the momentum has somehow shifted toward Sanders' side, Hillary still got the lead. The upcoming big-state elections next week in Illinois and Ohio could be pivotal. It could dismiss Sanders' recent win as some fluke or it could put him back in one more exciting race.
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