With Hillary Clinton’s record-high negatives in the area of trust and honesty — exceeded only, to her good luck, by Trump’s even higher negatives on those attributes — she will struggle to convince these voters that she feels their pain. She’ll gain some traction thanks to Trump’s sexism and the Republicans’ relentless assaults on her. But the fact remains that she, like her husband did, has advocated the bipartisan policies that have hurt working Americans and she represents the very establishment people are aching to kick to the curb.

By contrast, Sanders’ authenticity and his consistent opposition to the policies people feel, in their gut, have hurt them continues to resonate. Indeed, in the wake of Sanders’ victory in West Virginia, even New Hampshire state Sen. Lou D’Allesandro, a Clinton supporter, told the Wall Street Journal: “Every time [Mr. Sanders] presents himself and presents his story, more people start talking about him.”

People talk — and voters turn out — because Bernie Sanders’ story is powerful. It describes, truthfully, what has happened to the working class in America. As a result, he is winning the debate about what the party should stand for — forcing a moderate, corporate-funded Democrat like Hillary Clinton to mimic his rhetoric and agenda. As we move into the final phase of primary season, we will soon know whether the party will also field the stronger opponent to the snake oil Donald Trump is selling.