Dem primaries spell trouble for moderate candidates

The state of the Democratic race for the party’s presidential nomination has shifted fundamentally.

Though most polls have former Vice President Joe Biden still leading the pack by a notable margin, Biden’s lead has slipped significantly since the first debates. Further, progressive candidates like Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., have surged in the polls, while moderate candidates like South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg have slipped slightly.

To be sure, this shift away from center-left candidates and towards progressive candidates is indicative of the leftward shift within the Democratic Party and does not bode well for the party’s chances of defeating President Trump in 2020.

To beat President Trump, Democrats must nominate a moderate candidate with a wide base of support who can carry states like Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin – states that Trump won in 2016 but that President Barack Obama carried in 2008 and 2012.

Prior to the debates, Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., were the only candidates consistently polling in double digits, while the other leading progressives such Warren and Harris were polling at around 8 or 9 percent.