The 2016 presidential primary has been one of the most unique election cycles in our history; the race started with 22 hopeful candidates racing at full speed to secure the seat as the President of the United States, but now three candidates are left standing in the race to the White House. Two are the presumptive nominees of their respective party, while another is hanging on to the coattails of the election attempting restructure the political system. Senator Bernie Sanders, the self proclaimed Democratic Socialist, is the only other option for Democrats before the party convention in July. Seeing as how the primary season is over, Sanders’ only hope is the convention nominate him for the party, going against the wishes of the general population and the super delegates of the Democratic Party. But, could this be the senator’s only option to win the White House? No, Sanders could bite the bullet, and run as a third party candidate.
As a third party candidate, many different outcomes could occur, but I believe that one action would surpass the others, a Donald Trump presidency. According to a CBS poll posted on June 16th, Hillary Clinton leads Donald Trump 43 percent to 37 percent in the General Election. This 43 percent figure is without the Vermont Senator added into the mix. If the Democrats want to win the White House in 2016, they must have only one candidate be the nominee with the other respecting the loss and going back to their daily lives.
If the senator were to start a third party bid after potentially losing to Hillary Clinton in the July convention, the Democratic Party would be broken in two as we saw the Republican Party trudge through in the primary season. Many party leaders would still vote for the former Secretary of State for reasons of party loyalty, but others would side with Sanders causing enormous amounts of tension in the legislative body. Abraham Lincoln said, “a house divided cannot stand,” and that is what the masses of America would be saying about the Democrats if Bernie started a third party bid; it isn’t good for the leadership or the voters is the party is divided.
The idea of a third party bid is exciting to millennials, myself included, but isn’t practical in the long run. Clinton and Sanders share a common goal of wanting to be president, but they also share a goal of keeping Donald Trump as far away from D.C. as possible. The ball is in the Senator’s court, which goal is more important to him? He can support his party’s nominee and accept his defeat this time around, or press his luck in a third party bid, potentially knocking himself and Hillary Clinton out of power. Ultimately, the decision relies on the voters and who they chose to manage the highest office in the land.
Bernie Sanders started a movement among young people, fought an uphill battle against his opponents, and questioned us on why the top one percent runs the country. All in all Sanders ran an incredible candidate during the primary season, but keeping that campaign alive during the general election could spell disaster for this election and the nation if the gamble of a third party campaign doesn't pay off.
