The belief that Bernie Sanders is too left-wing to win a presidential election is an article of faith among journalists, pundits, and political operatives. Most of Sanders’s Democratic rivals also echo that claim either directly or through their surrogates. It is probably the most commonly held and thus damaging argument against a Sanders nomination. And it is this concern that keeps some, perhaps many, Democratic Party voters from fully embracing his campaign.

But the “too far left” thesis has no empirical evidence to support it. In fact, all the evidence suggests the opposite — that Sanders is almost certainly the very best shot at beating Trump.

In 2016, Sanders routinely fared as well or better than Hillary Clinton in head-to-head match-ups with Trump. And even Michael Bloomberg has recently said that Bernie would have won in 2016 had he been the nominee. The 2020 polling backs that up — Sanders does as well or better (often far better) in match-ups with Trump than all the other Democratic contenders.