According to Real Clear Politics there have been 21, 951, 362 votes cast in the 2016 Democratic primaries and caucuses. Of those votes Sen. Sanders is getting 43% of them while Clinton is getting 57% of them. Folks that is definitely not winning. In fact it is losing in a landslide. In 2008, for example, Clinton got around 47.8% of the vote while Obama got around 48.1% of the vote. For all of the talk about how Sanders is energizing the Democratic Party a significant majority of voters have not responded to his message.
Yet despite her lead in the popular vote there are many Sanders supporters who act as if her lead in delegates is somehow illegitimate. That somehow Sanders is being deprived of a victory by the way the rules are being applied.
Look Clinton’s lead in delegates is actually less than her lead in the popular vote. Right now she leads in delegates who are pledged to one candidate or the other, 1716 to 1433. This delegate count does not include super delegates. This means that Sanders is getting 46% of the delegates while only getting 43% of the vote. Clinton is getting only 54% of the delegates selected while she is receiving 57% of the vote. If anyone has a complaint with how delegates are being selected it is Clinton not Sanders.
Indeed it seems to be the position of the Sanders campaign that it doesn’t matter how big Clinton’s lead is in terms of the popular vote Sanders should still get the nomination. Why? Why should a political party nominate a person who is not winning the majority of the votes cast by that party’s primary and caucus voters?
The fact of the matter is that Sanders is losing the popular vote in the 2016 Democratic primaries and caucuses and unless that changes he should not be the Democratic Party’s nominee. On the other hand if he can overcome Clinton’s lead in the popular vote then he should be the Party’s nominee.
It is interesting that the Republican Party has accepted the idea that the candidate who gets the most votes should get the Party’s nomination while there is a significant segment of the Democratic Party that refuses to accept what is normally a given in American politics: If you win the popular vote, you should win the election even if, as in Trump’s case, that is not a majority of the vote.
In the final analysis you usually only win in American politics by getting more votes than your opponent. All the wishful thinking in the world doesn’t change that basic fact.