How Bernie Sanders’ Decision To Move Debate From Pennsylvania To New York Backfired

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) personally wanted the Democratic presidential debate that was supposed to be held in Pennsylvania moved to New York, but that decision has completely backfired on the campaign.

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Politico reported that Sanders was behind the move of the debate from Pennsylvania to New York:

Just two weeks before, on the night of his victory in Wisconsin, everything seemed to be going Sanders’ way. He was flush with cash thanks to his energized small donors and he was riding a wave of momentum after posting six wins in the seven previous contests. His aides had just agreed to the finishing touches of a debate in New York — something Sanders himself wanted after the campaigns had initially agreed to hold it in Pennsylvania. His top staff viewed the increasingly sharp timbre and pitch of the race as confirmation that Clinton herself was frustrated with the direction of things.

More than the choice to take 36 hours off of the campaign trail to go to the Vatican, the Sanders decision to push to have the Democratic debate moved will have long-term repercussions for his campaign.

If the debate were still scheduled for this week in Pennsylvania, Sen. Sanders would have an opportunity to bounce back from the loss in New York. The Sanders decision to bet everything on the New York primary means that now he has to compete in another closed primary with no debate platform to use to appeal to Keystone State Democrats.

Sanders went all in on New York and lost big. His campaign is now faced with a brutal week of contests that Hillary Clinton will be favored to win. Forget the post-defeat spin that is downplaying the New York results, the scope of the loss in the Empire State was devastating because it left the campaign with a strategy of flipping superdelegates to win the nomination.

Sen. Sanders is going to continue the fight, but by not leaving himself an opportunity in Pennsylvania, the Senator from Vermont may have doubled his losses with a single bad decision.

Jason Easley

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