Can Bernie Sanders Win The North Dakota Caucus?

Can Bernie win in North Dakota? His campaign obviously thinks so. He drew overflow crowds at two rallies in Fargo and Bismarck. The Hillary Clinton campaign responded by announcing former President Bill Clinton would visit Fargo this week and naming a state director who began the process of reaching out to Democrats in the state.

The Sanders campaign is hopeful because they’ve done well in states with open registration caucuses, like North Dakota. That means that even if you haven’t registered as a Democrat in the past, you can still show up at the caucuses and vote for your preferred candidate.

“We think our prospects are great in North Dakota. We were excited about the crowds that came out, we were excited about the people. Our staff got to chat with a lot of folks. I think people are excited about what Senator Sanders is talking about. He’s raising the level of conversation in this election so when we speak about the issues that people are dealing with every day. Talking about economic inequality, talking about climate change, so I think that we are happy with the visit and we look forward to a win in North Dakota on June 7th,” Symone Sanders, national press secretary for the Bernie Sanders campaign, told HPR.

Sanders even thinks Bernie would be competitive on the general election ballot for President, which Democrats haven’t won in North Dakota since LBJ in 1964.

“North Dakota is a caucus and we tend to do well in open caucuses. People who traditionally have not been registered Democrat can come out and participate and make their voices heard through the caucus process. We think if Senator Sanders is the Democratic nominee, which we think will happen, those same people are going to come back out in droves in November. So we’ve seen that we’ve been able to bring new people into the party, register new Democrats and we really believe that’s going to carry through to November when Senator Sanders is the Democratic nominee,” Press Secretary Sanders said.

ND Senate Minority Leader Mac Schneider (D- Grand Forks) has decided to endorse Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders, joining Senator Heidi Heitkamp as the two most prominent elected leaders in the state to endorse her campaign. He is excited about the visit of President Clinton because of his help during the 1997 flood. Her staff reached out to him to get his endorsement.

“I met with her campaign staff during the course of this week and I am just very impressed with the effort they are putting in to reach out to North Dakota democrats and compete for their votes in the state. On policy grounds certainly Secretary Clinton and I don’t agree on everything but I don’t think I’ve ever supported a Presidential candidate where we agree down the line. That said, I just think she’s got the experience and the temperament that makes her ready to lead this country in a pretty challenging time both internationally and with what’s going on here domestically too,” Schneider replied.

Schneider feels that not only will Secretary Clinton win the North Dakota caucus but also could win in the general election ballot against a Republican nominee, likely to be Donald Trump.

“I think she’s certainly going to be competitive in North Dakota especially against the presumptive Republican nominee. North Dakota is a right-leaning state, I don’t think there’s any disputing that. But I do think she’s going to be competitive especially in certain areas like the Red River Valley where in some places where there’s closer to equal numbers Republicans and Democrats like District 42, the district that I represent, and District 44, just to name one example from Fargo, I think she will be tremendously competitive in those areas.” Schneider said.

Symone Sanders rejects the notion that the Bernie Sanders campaign is hurting Hillary Clinton’s eventual nomination saying they still have a path to victory and that even after every state votes, neither candidate will have enough delegates to be declared the winner. The Sanders campaign cites polls including battleground states such as Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida which show Clinton losing to Trump and Sanders doing far better.

“What is going on is a true nominating contests of ideas that is happening and we believe that every single person in America, every single person in every state, every single voter that wants to go to the polls should have the opportunity to cast their ballot for the candidate of their choice. It’s not right to say oh we don’t think you’re gonna win or we think the pundits or some of the political class, they think it’s sewn up, so let’s just cut it off at the knees. No, North Dakota hasn’t voted, South Dakota hasn’t voted, California, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, New Mexico haven’t voted yet. We believe that every single person should be able to cast their ballot,” Sanders remarked.

Schneider for his part thinks party unity is important following a tough nomination process. He thinks Clinton can win over the young people who have been drawn to the Sanders campaign.

“I think the important thing going forward is we consolidate the enthusiasm that supporters of both these candidates have shown throughout the nominating process and make sure that that translates into positive energy going into the fall campaign.” Schneider told HPR. “What I’ve seen from her staff is just so encouraging in that respect, reaching out to North Dakota Democrats with the message that this is one big family by and large, we’re all on the same page in terms of these critical issues and that when the nomination’s over, it’s just so important to channel that energy in a positive way. I think when she continues that outreach throughout the course of the summer and into the early fall, that’s exactly what’ll happen. People will be striking with the closed fist and pulling into the same direction.”

ND Democrat-NPL state party executive director Robert Haider says caucus goers need to sign up to find their location and know that it starts at 7 p.m. sharp, so you need to be there before then, as doors will close. Because it is a process run by the state party, photo IDs are not required. Haider is not surprised that both Presidential campaigns are coming to the state despite it only having 23 delegates.

“North Dakota Democrats are energized by this election and the excitement surrounding the Democratic campaigns coming to North Dakota reinforces that. The momentum and messages of the Democratic candidates contrast with those of Donald Trump, the expected Republican presidential nominee. We need a presidential candidate who stands up and fights for all North Dakotans as both Democratic candidates do, not someone marginalizing women, minorities, and many others with hate-filled, misleading statements like Donald Trump,” Haider said.

As far as how delegates will be proportioned, Haider explained to HPR how the process will work.

“Delegates will be selected on June 7 to attend the State Delegate Selection Meeting ("SDSM"), which takes place on June 18 in Bismarck; there, delegates will be selected to the Democratic National Convention. On June 7, each district will select one delegate for every 300 votes that President Obama received in that respective district in 2012. Those delegates will be selected based on the size of a preference caucus relative to the overall turnout of credentialed participants in the district,” Heider remarked.

To learn more about the process and where you should vote go to demnpl.com/caucus