Who’s leading a voter revolution? Hint: It’s not Bernie Sanders.

Unfortunately for Sanders, this revolution, at least as measured by turnout numbers, is flailing.

Sanders is indeed capturing healthy majorities of young voters and first-time primary and caucus participants, according to entrance and exit polls. But so far there haven’t been nearly enough such voters to award him a majority of delegates, let alone the kind of super-elevated turnout that would propel him to victory — along with like-minded confederates “up and down the line” — in November.

Advertisement

In fact, raw turnout numbers — that is, the number of people who voted — in all three Democratic contests thus far have fallen well below their record 2008 levels, according to data from University of Florida political scientist Michael P. McDonald.

Likewise, entrance and exit poll data so far indicate that first-time primary and caucus-goers have represented a smaller share of Democratic voters this primary season than in the past. For example, newbies accounted for 42 percent of Iowa’s Democratic caucus participants this year, versus 57 percent in 2008.

Join the conversation as a VIP Member

Trending on HotAir Videos

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement