—By Pema Levy
| Thu Mar. 31, 2016 11:29 AM
EDT
Bernie Sanders won his home
state of Vermont with a whopping 86 percent of the vote. Hillary Clinton, it
seems, will have no such luck on her home turf.
Sanders is slowly gaining on Clinton in New York ahead of the April 19
primary. Clinton now leads Sanders by 12 points in New York's Democratic
primary, according to a Quinnipiac Poll released Thursday. A poll in February
showed Sanders 21 points behind Clinton in New York, and another in March
showed him 48 points behind.
Sanders' growing support in
New York is not altogether surprising. Born and raised in Brooklyn, the Vermont
senator can also claim ties to the state. More important, the political climate
in New York is favorable to Sanders. Areas of western New York resemble
demographically the Midwestern states where Sanders has performed relatively
well. And there is a blueprint for a progressive challenger in New York. In
2014, a law professor with no name recognition and little money or
organization, Zephyr Teachout, won a third of the vote in her primary challenge to the state's
incumbent Democratic governor, Andrew Cuomo. Unlike Teachout, Sanders has
plenty of money, name recognition, and a growing organization in the state.
Still, with Sanders trailing
in the delegate count, he'll need to start racking up meaningful wins—not just
close contests—in delegate-rich states like New York in order to catch up to
Clinton.
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