In the Senate, from the right-wing fringe of the Republican wing of the Democratic Party-- Kyrsten Sinema (AZ), Joe Manchin (WV), Dianne Feinstein (CA), Doug Jones (AL)-- to the heart and soul of the progressive wing of the party-- Bernie (VT), Elizabeth Warren (MA), Tammy Baldwin (WI), Mazie Hirono (HI), Sherrod Brown (OH), Brian Schatz (HI)-- everyone is getting behind Biden's candidacy with endorsements. Same in the House. You get the Blue Dogs and New Dems from the Republican wing of the party, of course; garbagecrats like Josh Gottheimer (NJ), Kurt Schrader (OR), Henry Cuellar (TX), Wasserman Schultz (FL), Cheri Bustos (IL), Dan Lipinski (IL), Jim Costa (CA), Gregory Meeks (NY), Ami Bera (CA), Collin Peterson (MN), Gil Cisneros (CA) are a given. That's the Biden base. But almost all the progressives have signed on as endorsers now too-- Ro Khanna (CA), Andy Levin (MI), Jamie Raskin (MD), Ted Lieu (CA), Barbara Lee (CA). And while Rashida, Ilhan, Ayanna and Pramila aren't there yet, no one thinks they won't be and... Wednesday evening AOC became an official endorser as well. She was on Instagram with rapper Fat Joe for a livestream (below). First question was a choice: Trump, Biden or neither. AOC: "In November I'm going to be voting for Joe Biden."I don't disrespect her-- nor Bernie-- for their choice. People who want to pick the lesser evil-- especially when the greater evil is Trump... well, that's their choice for whatever reasons. This week, Ranker.com looked at all the data they look at and came to the conclusion that Democratic base voters will overlemingly unite behind Biden, including Bernie and Warren supporters-- even if the party’s overwhelming dislike of Señor Trumpanzee does not translate into enthusiasm for his rival. So, whipping up enthusiasm for Biden is a real hurdle for the Democratic Party. Here's what Ranker's research drove them to suggest to the party: Energizing Biden’s Base
• Invest in Texas-- Ranker data suggests Biden is strongest in the Southwestern US, which includes delegate-rich Texas. Could Joe be the Democrat to take this longtime Republican stronghold? Only if his campaign invests significant time there.• Buy ads on Hulu-- Biden fans are 5X more likely to love Tina Fey and twice as likely to love her iconic sitcom 30 Rock. They’re also 4X more likely to love Chris Rock, who will star on the newest season of Fargo whenever it returns from its coronavirus-induced suspension. Given that both these shows currently call Hulu home, reaching those viewers who haven’t opted out of ads seems like a good call for the Biden campaign.• Host Saturday Night Live -- Why not? After all, Trump did it while running in 2015. Biden fans are twice as likely to love SNL, and many of their favorite actors (Chris Rock, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler) are all alumni. Be forewarned, though: SNL doesn’t have nearly the same appeal to fans of either Bernie or Warren, so don’t expect an appearance to change many minds.• Appear on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver-- This is the show Biden fans are most likely to tune in to, which means an appearance from the former VP would likely fire up the base.
Reaching Sanders Supporters
• Make Waves in the Midwest-- Ranker users in the Midwest have a higher view of Sanders than users anywhere else. If Biden’s campaign is looking to make sure his supporters turn out in November, here’s where it should focus its time.• Buy Ads on AMC-- Bernie Sanders fans are 6X more likely to love Bryan Cranston, best known for his role on Breaking Bad. Given that people are still tuning in to watch new episodes of the spinoff Better Call Saul, Breaking Bad’s original home AMC might be a good place to reach out to the Bernie faithful.• Appear on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert-- Sanders supporters are 7X more likely to love CBS’s late night mainstay. An appearance by Biden, or by Bernie endorsing him, might inspire voters to embrace party unity.• Reach out to Lady Gaga-- Lady Gaga has already filmed a PSA with Joe Biden, which suggests she would be open to playing rallies for him. That’s good news for campaign officials hoping to make inroads with the Bernie faithful, since Bernie Bros are 4X more likely to love the pop singer’s music.
Winning Over Warren Fans
• Work on West Coasters-- 67% of Ranker users from California, Oregon, and Washington view Warren highly. Efforts out West will do the most to bring Warren’s camp to the polls.• Tough Crowd-- Overall, our data suggests the divisions between Democrats aren’t as deep as some fear; people who like any one of these three candidates are overwhelmingly more likely to also approve of the other two. However, the biggest division exists among Biden fans and Warren supporters, who are slightly less likely than Bernie Bros to approve of the former senator from Delaware.• Appear on The Daily Show-- This classic comedy news show is the clear favorite among Warren supporters, which should encourage the former VP to stop by host Trevor Noah’s desk.• Bruce Springsteen-- If you’re buying audio ads on platforms like Spotify, SXM, Pandora and IHeartRadio, you might want to make sure that people listening to The Boss, who are twice as likely to like Warren, also hear from Joe Biden.
Anyone-But-Trump 2020
• Reach out to the South-- Surprisingly enough, Ranker voters who dislike Trump are more likely to live under the Mason-Dixon Line than anywhere else (though that region does include more moderate states like Florida and Virginia). This suggests Biden shouldn’t give up on states that have gone red in the past.• Target Pope Francis Fans-- Ranker readers who love the current Pope are 8X less likely to vote up the current president on any given Ranker list. That should indicate to the DNC that it’s time to start targeting users who watch Papa Francisco’s speeches on YouTube, follow him on social media, and visit Catholic websites and Facebook groups.• Make Oprah VP (or at least a surrogate)-- Oprah Winfrey doesn’t appeal to any section of the party in particular, but she does seem to be a hit with those who dislike Trump (maybe that’s why there was a lot of chatter about Oprah herself running this year). Biden 2020 ads in her magazine and on her TV network might be a wise investment, and the party should certainly reach out to ask if Winfrey is willing to be a trusty campaign surrogate-- if not a running mate.• Reach out to Beyoncé and Cardi B-- The whole world wide web seems to love Beyoncé, and our data suggests that this huge portion of internet users is also pretty staunchly anti-Trump. That’s also the case with Cardi B, a rapper who shares virtually zero fans with Donald Trump. Endorsements and appearances from both artists could fire up those who dislike Trump and push them to vote for Biden.
I'd guess a Democratic Party unity event on television that includes Bernie, Elizabeth and AOC, as well as Biden, Kamala Harris, Marianne Williamson, Andrew Yang, Beto, Gillibrand, Tom Steyer, de Blasio, Jay Inslee, Mayo Pete, Klobuchar, Gravel, Castro, Booker... maybe even Tulsi and... ugh, Bloomberg would go over like gangbusters-- especially if there were big name musicians and comedians. And maybe that would be a good opportunity time to drag out Republican candidates like William Weld, Joe Walsh and Mark Sanford as suprise special bonus guests if anyone wants to denounce Trumpanzee and endorse Biden.
