Bye-bye, Bernie

Four years ago, Sen. Bernie Sanders pulled off an upset in Michigan that gave life to his insurgent challenge to front-runner Hillary Clinton. On Tuesday, Sanders suffered a crushing defeat in the state, and whether he’s ready or not to acknowledge it, he is now without a realistic path to the Democratic nomination.

It’s incredible to think that just over two weeks ago, Sanders was the heavy favorite to be the Democratic nominee. With a massive win in Nevada coming off of a victory in New Hampshire and arguable win in Iowa, he was heading into Super Tuesday with a full head of steam. Money, organization, and enthusiasm typically wins elections, and he had all of those going for him.

But what Sanders did not have was the support of a broad coalition of the party, particularly black voters, who are central to the nomination process and tend to be more traditionally liberal and pragmatic rather than wild-eyed and revolutionary. As Democrats stared at the prospect of going into the general election with a socialist at the top of the ticket, they panicked. Prominent party members, including most of his formal rivals for the 2020 nomination, rallied around Joe Biden.