Sanders Basically Dead Even with Clinton in Nevada

As the 2016 presidential campaign year begins in earnest, it is still very much all about the outsiders.

The still-commanding lead held by Donald Trump over the rest of the Republican field in many broad-based polls might be a surprise to some, but it can���t be considered nearly as much of an eye-opener as the enthusiasm Bernie Sanders has been able to sustain against Hillary Clinton, the one-time presumptive (slam-dunk?) nominee of the Democrats.

A believed Sanders weakness, according to many, is that once the campaign arrives at states that do not possess the sort of novelty into which the senator from Vermont has been successful at tapping, the ���macro��� appeal of candidate Clinton is going to take over, and Sanders will quickly become a memory.

Not so fast. According to a new CNN/ORC Poll, those who are likely caucus-goers in Nevada are basically split down the middle, with 48% saying they are Clinton supporters and 47% saying they will be supporting Sanders. That Bernie Sanders is polling so well among Democratic voters���in a state that is hardly a natural environment for a socialist from New England���likely says as much about the substantial distaste for Clinton among the party electorate as it does any positive view of Sanders.

The Democratic Party caucuses for Nevada will be held this coming Saturday, February 20.

Robert G. Yetman, Jr.