Bernie's Problem - Liberals Are A Minority In Democratic Party

Much has been made of Hillary Clinton's dominance among women and minorities -- and both of those present a real problem for her closest opponent, Bernie Sanders. Women out number men when it comes to voting (and have done so since 1980), and minorities make up a large chunk of the Democratic Party. But while it is true that Sanders needs to make serious inroads in both of those groups to have a chance at the nomination, there is another demographic that should worry his supporters.

Liberals (progressives) do not make up a majority of the party members. Their numbers are growing, and they now make up about 41% of the party -- but that is not a majority. That means that 59% of party members do not identify themselves as liberals -- 35% say they are moderates, 21% say they are conservatives, a 3% are unsure where they are on the political scale.

Currently, almost all of Sanders support comes from the party liberals. But he is sharing that liberal support with Hillary Clinton, with about the same percentage of liberals supporting each. That means for either candidate to win, they must appeal to moderates and conservatives in the party. And while both Clinton and Sanders have laid out a progressive agenda, Clinton has a huge lead over Sanders among both moderates and conservatives in the party.

Republicans like to say they have a "big tent" party, but it's not really true. But Democrats do have a "big tent" party  -- with members of all races, ages, sexes, sexual preferences, and religions. And that big tent also includes people from all spectrums of political beliefs (conservative, moderate, liberal). A candidate might win the Republican nomination by appealing only to one group (white conservatives), but the same is NOT true for Democratic candidates. They must have a coalition of support from all groups within the party.

Currently, Clinton has that coalition working -- while Sanders appeals mostly to white liberals. If Sanders is to have a chance to win the nomination, he must change that.