Poll: Half of Sanders Supporters Want Him to Run Independent

ashley.rae | June 8, 2016
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Roughly half of Bernie Sanders supporters say Sanders should run as an independent candidate for president rather than endorse presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

An Economist/YouGov poll asked approximately 300 Sanders supporters, “If Bernie Sanders does not become the Democratic nominee for President, do you think he should run for President as an independent candidate or support Hillary Clinton?”

Of the respondents, 52 percent said Sanders should “run as an independent candidate” while only 33 percent said he should “support Hillary Clinton for President.”

Voters under 30 were the most likely to support Sanders running as an independent candidate. The poll found nearly 65 percent of voters under 30 support Sanders running as an independent candidate against Clinton.

The poll found approximately a quarter of Sanders supporters (23 percent) said, if Sanders does not run as an independent candidate, they would vote for someone other than Clinton or presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump. Of the Sanders supporters under 30, 32 percent said they would vote for someone other than Clinton or Trump for president.

The Economist/YouGov poll was conducted from June 2-5, before Clinton became the presumptive Democratic nominee.

Although Sanders has vowed he will continue his campaign for president, third party candidates have already begun trying to appeal to Sanders supporters.

Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson has been telling voters he agrees with Sanders on “73 percent” of the issues. In a video released on Tuesday, Johnson spoke about how he agrees with Sanders on foreign policy and civil liberties.

Likely Green Party nominee Jill Stein is also trying to reach out to Sanders supporters, claiming there is a “plan B” available for Sanders supporters. Stein claims her campaign will help “continue the revolution.” 

The Economist/YouGov poll was conducted via Web-based interviews and has a margin of error of ± 3.2% (adjusted for weighting).

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