After suffering a bruising defeat in Michigan’s presidential primary, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, declared Wednesday that he’ll stay in the race.
Despite the fact that Bernie Sanders was all over Michigan the weekend ahead of the state’s primary, he was unable to pull off another upset. Sanders traveled to five cities, and held huge rallies across the state. His Sunday rally in Grand Rapids brought out more than 7,000 people.
But, his promise to bring out young voters, didn’t pan out. His rival Joe Biden swept every county in Michigan, even counties that Sanders had won by 25 points in 2016.
Madi Marlin, is a Central Michigan University student. In a Mt. Pleasant taphouse her eyes were glued to the TV as CNN projected Biden would win the state.
“It was again, disappointment, but not dismay and not necessarily surprise either.”
Biden performed well with suburban voters, black voters, and especially women in the state—winning women’s votes 57% to Sanders 39%.
But, Rebecca Terpening—co-chair of Central Michigan for Bernie Sanders— said she doesn’t understand how establishment Democrats can rally behind a candidate who wasn’t many voters first pick, just a couple weeks ago.
“I don't understand how they can get behind somebody who I don’t know has the volunteers to back him in November. So, you know, it kind of scares me to think about that," said Terpening.
Even with a skeletal on the ground operation, Biden was able to pull-off a decisive victory in Michigan. If he wins the nomination, the final test for Democrats will be if he can win the state again in November.