What if Sanders Wins California?

Ruben Navarrett Jr. on Jun 5, 2016

A survey conducted by the Public Policy Institute of California found Clinton with only a slight advantage over Sanders among likely Democratic voters, 46 percent to 44 percent. And an NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist poll had it 49 percent for Clinton, and 47 percent for Sanders. Both sets of findings were within the margin of error.

Sanders is on a hot streak. And so what's the response of Democrats in Washington? They want him to drop out, insisting that Clinton has all but sewn up the nomination. As Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada put it recently in calling for Sanders to exit the race, "Sometimes you just have to give up."

Now there's an inspiring message. Not exactly Churchillian, is it? This is not the time for Sanders to give up.

Also, the mainstream media, much of which seem eager to have Sanders out of the way so they can focus on a likely Clinton-vs.-Trump matchup, have been none-too-subtle about trying to push the Democratic challenger out the door. The most recent narrative has been that, even if Clinton loses California, she will likely still win her party's nomination that night by earning the required number of delegates. It's as if the media want to dampen the enthusiasm of Sanders' supporters by convincing them that the game is over.

Good luck with that. Sanders' followers are devout, and many of them will not fall in line behind Clinton if they perceive that their candidate has been given the bum's rush.

Don't be surprised if Sanders wins California and, while losing the nomination, winds up in a great spot to negotiate for the ultimate consolation prize: a place on the ticket as Clinton's running mate.

Never happen? Stranger things have already occurred in this bizarre election year.

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Ruben Navarrette's email address is ruben@rubennavarrette.com.