Hillary Clinton has been dealt a serious blow by Bernie Sanders. The Independent Senator from Vermont defeated Clinton in the primary battleground of New Hampshire by over 20 points.
A convincing victory and a major boost to Sanders’ campaign, after losing to the former secretary of state by just 0.4 percent of the votes in the Iowa primary. The loss has been especially rough because New Hampshire has long been kind to the Clintons. It’s the state that gave Bill Clinton the tag ‘comeback kid’ in 1992, the year he clinched the presidency. Hillary Clinton also beat Barack Obama in New Hampshire in 2008, salvaging her campaign after a third-place showing in Iowa.
Sanders’ win comes after a heavy voter turnout in New Hampshire, and has fuelled speculation that Hillary’s message of a progressive leader is weakening before the Vermont Senator’s call for a political revolution. Sanders’ campaign for radical policies to address income inequality, education and immigration reform, same-sex rights as well global warming have struck a chord with young voters.
Sanders has pushed the narrative over these issues for decades ever since he was a student campaigner for racial equality in the 1960s, while Hillary’s stance has been constantly tempered by the political currents. Sanders comes across as an old-school activist, an Independent driven by conviction seeking the Democrat platform to push for social justice. The issues he has championed are now at the centre of American politics and make the majority of the Democrats tick.
Hillary Clinton on the other hand is a seasoned politician, one who tiptoes around politically divisive issues when voters yearn for decisive action. Democrat voters consisting of liberals, youth and minority groups have been frustrated by Obama’s inability to effectively push the party’s social justice agenda while he was in power. They are not impressed by his newfound conviction pushing executive action and sharpened rhetoric on climate change and gun regulation only in the twilight of his presidency. Hillary’s tempered narrative on key issues has not roused voters frustrated by Obama’s ‘Hope and Change’ promise.
That energy, that passion they find in Bernie Sanders. He has shown himself as the exception to the ‘nefarious politician’ brand, working incognito for decades, with no strings held by lobbyists and corporate America, raising funds for his campaign via personal donations from everyday citizens. Hillary on the other hand is a member of a political family, a Washington insider funded by the fat cats of Wall Street.
For the Democratic nomination, the youth are a critical vote bank. Hillary and Sanders continue to tussle over certain sections of Democrat voters, but the New Hampshire result has shown that the youth are more inclined towards Sanders, even indifferent to the idea of electing the first female president of the United States.
Hillary Clinton needs to wrestle that support from Sanders, boost the energy of her narrative and match his passion if she hopes to clinch more primaries, and win the nomination. However, so far it seems she is driven by political ambition, while Sanders is driven by his mission of delivering supreme social justice to American citizens. Sanders has the edge so far. Will Hillary close the gap?
The writer is a senior news editor at CNN-IBN in India.
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