Ex-Bill Clinton adviser says Hillary might not be the nominee

Bernie Sanders, who has declared that he will not drop out of the race for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination, is raining on Hillary Clinton’s parade. Despite previous expectation that Clinton will easily win in California next Tuesday, recent polls suggest that the two will likely have a close race. Some go as far as to project that if Sanders wins in California, there is a chance Clinton will not win the Democratic nomination.

In an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, Douglas Schoen, a former political adviser and pollster to former President Bill Clinton, argued, “A Sanders win in California would powerfully underscore Mrs. Clinton's weakness as a candidate in the general election. Democratic superdelegates--chosen by the party establishment and overwhelmingly backing Mrs. Clinton, 543-44--would seriously question whether they should continue to stand behind her candidacy.” Schoen argued that Sanders is more competitive than she is against Republican nominee Donald Trump in the general election and that Clinton “faces growing legal problems” over her e-mail scandal. In addition, Schoen said, the general electorate’s negative sentiment and distrust against Clinton is higher than ever.

Schoen also mentioned scenarios within the Democratic Party that Vice President Joe Biden enters the race with Senator Elizabeth Warren who is respected by the party’s left wing as his running mate. “With her poll numbers dropping, her legal headaches increasing, the Sanders candidacy showing renewed vigor, and Donald Trump looming as a wrecking ball for the president’s legacy, (President) Obama and adviser Valerie Jarrett might begin sending signals to the Democratic National Committee and to the vice president that a Biden rescue operation wouldn’t displease the White House,” Schoen wrote.

The Wall Street Journal reported that it was unusual for Clinton, who has almost secured nomination mathematically, is facing arguments that she might not become the nominee. She has secured 97.1 percent of 2,383 delegates she needs to win nomination. Therefore, it is mathematically impossible for Sanders to turn the tables. In an interview with the Associated Press, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid urged Sanders to drop out, saying that the Vermont Senator should realize that "math is math" after the primaries next week.

However, Sanders supporters are waging a “Bernie or Bust” campaign, putting pressure on the party leadership and the Clinton camp by vowing to not recognizing a party convention nominating Clinton as the nominee and to hold rallies calling for revising “undemocratic” primary regulations. In particular, many younger voters say they will vote for Trump if Sanders is not nominated. Attention is drawn to how Clinton will attract those voters. If she fails to absorb younger voters supportive of Sanders and support from hardline liberals, she will likely have a tough battle against Trump in the presidential election.

Meanwhile, Kenneth Rogoff, professor of economics at Harvard University, who visited Seoul to attend an international financial forum, predicted that Clinton has a 60 percent chance of becoming president, compared with Trump’s 40 percent.

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