Last updated on September 25th, 2023 at 01:53 pm
Respected Iowa pollster Ann Selzer says that if voters with no religious affiliation come out to caucus tonight, they could power Bernie Sanders to victory in Iowa.
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Transcript via MSNBC’s Morning Joe:
JOE SCARBOROUGH, MSNBC HOST: I mean, that is a question though. And you certainly, you weigh a lot of different things when you — you (ph) put together the gold standard of Iowa polling. Do you not discount younger voters getting out and caucusing?
SELZER: We don’t discount anybody who says they will definitely or probably caucus. People go to these events, reporters, and they call me up and just say I’m just running into people who say, well, maybe I’ll caucus. Well, they’re not in our poll.
SCARBOROUGH: So do you have any — do you notice an uptick of younger voters saying they will definitely caucus?
BRZEZINSKI: Plan to?
SELZER: Well, that’s who Bernie Sanders‘ constituency is. It’s very much the Obama constituency.
SCARBOROUGH: Right.
SELZER: Younger, first time, those two things go together.
SCARBOROUGH: And you’re getting definitely from those younger first timers?
SELZER: We are getting enough that something could happen for Bernie Sanders.
….
SCARBOROUGH: You say the nones are going to play it big.
(LAUGHTER)
SELZER: The nones are big.
SCARBOROUGH: The nones are going to be big in the Sanders operation (ph).
BRZEZINSKI: What do you mean by that?
SELZER: On both sides in this race, the strongest constituency is so fascinating to me. Bernie Sanders, the nones, people who say “I have no religion”.
SCARBOROUGH: By the way, it’s n-o-n-e.
SELZER: That’s right. No religious affiliation.
BRZEZINSKI: We were confused.
SELZER: So one of the fastest-growing groups in politics, 40 percent lead for Bernie Sanders.
SCARBOROUGH: Wow.
SELZER: So if the nones show up they’ll take care of things.
If Sanders wins Iowa, it will bolster his electability argument and his argument that he is capable of delivering the big turnout of new and young voters that Democrats will need in order to win in November. Iowa is important to both Clinton and Sanders, but Sanders probably needs a victory more than Clinton.
A Clinton loss will increase the doubts among some Democrats about her campaign. The Clinton team is relying on traditional Democratic voters to come out and caucus. If the former Sec. of State gets swamped by non-religious and younger caucusgoers, it will a step towards confirming the changing demographics of the Democratic Party.
A Sanders win in Iowa is a very real possibility, but it is who may push him to victory that holds a larger message for the Democratic Party.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
