MSNBC Democratic Debate: Live Coverage

That’s something that probably deserves a whole post instead of a quick liveblog take! (And Harry has dived into this.) The short answer is that Sanders would probably cost the Democrats a couple of percentage points, other things held equal, but not necessarily produce a McGovern/Goldwater type disaster. The longer answer involves mentioning that McGovern and Goldwater weren’t just “extreme” ideologically but also very divisive nominees, so some of it would depend on how much Sanders was able to unite the Democratic Party behind him.

Nate, would Sanders really be a Goldwater/McGovern-esque general election candidate?

The question about whether Sanders can win a general election gets to the heart of the debate facing Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents. Clinton talks about earning the support of young, energized Sanders voters. And of course the question is whether some of these strong Sanders supporters will simply sit out 2016 if their candidate doesn’t win the nomination.