by Dan Georgakas

A recent CNN poll posits that 69% of the Sanders vote will go to Hillary. This reflects the circumstance that  many progressive Democrats consciously voted for Sanders in order to move Clinton leftward.  They openly stated they would vote for Bernie in April and Hillary in November.
 
Independents, wavering Democrats, and college students were the most passionate  supporters of the Sanders agenda. Many of his proposals have been incorporated into the Democratic platform. While these voters may dislike Clinton, they understand that a vote for her is the best way to secure some of the goals championed  by Sanders. These factors make it likely that as the election nears the Sanders voters for Clinton will grow in number rather than fall away.
 
The CNN poll found 13% of Sanders voters gravitating to the Green Party headed by Jill Stein.  This is reasonable as the Green Party endorses the Sanders program and even offered him the chance to head its ticket.  History, however, shows that enthusiasm for third parties tends to peak in the summer months. If that history holds, the 13% is likely to erode.
 
The one new organized force for the Greens is the decision of three small socialist groups with a combined membership of about a  thousand to work on behalf of Stein. The activists in these groups are mainly clustered in universities  which might keep the third party erosion from happening. Their slogan is “Jill, not Hill.”
 
Voting for the Libertarian Party is another electoral option.  Sanders voters agree with the human rights perspectives championed by the Libertarians and many aspects of its views on foreign policy, but the Libertarian economic program is a near opposite of that of Sanders.  The  CNN poll showing 10% of Sanders voters going to the Libertarians is not likely to materialize.
 
A mere 3% of Sanders vote have declared they would vote for Trump.  The one substantive issue Trumpraised to appeal to themwas theanti-Sanders actions of the Democratic national committee.  This sour grapes approach lost its momentum when the Democratsadmitted their misconduct, fired their Chair ( an avid pro-Clinton crony),  and adopted reforms.  The best guarantee that the reforms stay in effect is the election of Clinton.
 
Trump and  his surrogates are pretty much out of tune with Sanders voters. A major military advisor  pens anti-Semitic tweets and a former staff member advocates the expulsion of all Muslims from America. Trump’s son has proudly bragged that Trump is a “Fifth Avenue Redneck.” That statement unwittingly waves the red flag at reformers who equate the term “redneck”  with racist know-nothings. They also consider a Fifth Avenue address as the realm of the despised 1% of America’s economic elite.
 
The major concern for Clinton is that the  CNN poll found 5%  of Sanders voters are now undecided and may not vote. I doubt many are actually undecided but more than 5% are considering not voting at all. Students, in particular, have a history of being more enthusiastic about going to rallies than showing up to vote. Trump would be pleased to have the Sanders student supporters stay home,  but his increasingly vulgar and intemperate campaign rhetoric  is exactly what will impel  them to go to the polls to cast their vote  against him.  Polls just released show Trump making no dent in Democratic states while falling behind even in traditional Republican states and all of what are referred to as swing states.