Bernie Supporters Will Vote For Trump

• A recent poll by Bloomberg Politics found that over half of Bernie Sanders supports say they will not vote for Hillary in November.
• 22 percent of the polled say they will vote for Donald Trump.
• When asked if an endorsement by Bernie Sanders of Hillary Clinton would change their mind, only 5% said it would.

Despite attempts by establishment Democrats to unify the party ahead of the general election, an astonishing poll out today by Bloomberg Politics shows almost half of Bernie Sanders supporters will not support Hillary Clinton in the general election.

Fifty-five percent of voters who supported Sanders in the primary say they’ll vote for the former Secretary of State, while over a fifth—22 percent—of Sanders supporters say they will cast their ballot for Republican nominee Donald Trump. Eighteen percent plan to vote for the Libertarian choice, Gary Johnson.

This poll comes two weeks after Clinton became the presumptive nominee. Sanders, who promised to “support” Clinton and vowed to “do everything in my power” to defeat Trump,” has yet to endorse the former Secretary of State. He has previously said it’s “incumbent” upon Clinton to make the case to his millions of supporters, “who do not believe in establishment politics or establishment economics,” and who view Clinton’s major Wall Street donors as a serious liability to her character

Indeed, of the dozen people interviewed by Bloomberg Politics in conjunction with the poll, many cited their perception of Clinton’s hawkish pragmatism and corporate corruption as the main reasons they refuse to support the candidate. And some insist nothing could change their minds.

“There's zero percent chance that Hillary Clinton could ever get my vote,” Baltimore resident Perry Mitchell told Bloomberg. “She's a corporate candidate. I don't vote for corporate candidates. I don't do the lesser of two evils.”

Still, some voters, including 27-year old Sanders support Albert Arevalo, recognize the alternative to Clinton is unacceptable. “A true Bernie fan would be stupid to not vote for a Democrat,” Arevalo said. “By being ignorant and not voting you are electing a racist troll.”

It’s possible that a Sanders endorsement of Clinton would sway some voters—though the Bloomberg Politics poll shows only 5 percent of Sanders voters would vote for the presumptive nominee even if he endorses her. And for some die-hard Sanders supporters, including 31-year old Ethan Winnett, endorsing Clinton would be “a betrayal of all his principles.”

“She’s become everything that we’re against.” Winnett, told the New York Times, later adding “if we get Trump, then we’ve gotten the country we deserve.”

“It’s not the fault of the Bernie Sanders supporters,” Winnett continued. “It’s the fault of the Democrats for choosing Hillary Clinton.”

By Elizabeth Preza / AlterNet