Get ready to have your mind blown. I was a lifelong Republican voter prior to Bernie and switched my registration to Democrat to vote for him in the primary. If he were to make it, he absolutely would have been my choice for president. Many of my friends at the time switched as well because we believed in his message. However, after seeing the coordinated effort from the DNC to shut him out in favor of Hillary, I ended up voting 3rd-party. I’m still registered as a Democrat; however, neither of the current top two parties will likely get my vote again. I believe you underestimate how wide an audience can be intrigued by something different than the usual corporate options.
I lived in prime MAGA country in 2016, and they knew I wasn’t with them and were suspicious until I said I was a Bernie supporter. They said they respected him for being consistent and for his hatred of billionaires and support of the working class. I honestly think that if it had been Bernie vs. Trump we’d be in the middle of the former’s second term right now.
