Bernie's Big Bet

Published: Jan. 17, 2020, 10:55 a.m.

The Obama coalition has become almost mythic within the Democratic Party for having united first-time voters, people of color and moderates to win the presidency in 2008. This year, Senator Bernie Sanders is betting that he can win with the support of young voters and people of color \u2014 but without the moderates.\n\nTo do that, he\u2019s counting on winning over and energizing the Latino vote. The ultimate test of whether he will be able to do that is in California, where Latinos are the single biggest nonwhite voting bloc. While young Latinos in California overwhelmingly support Mr. Sanders, to become the Democratic nominee, he will need the support of their parents and grandparents as well.\n\nGuests: Jennifer Medina, a national political correspondent who is covering the 2020 presidential campaign for The New York Times, traveled to California with Jessica Cheung and Monika Evstatieva, producers on \u201cThe Daily,\u201d to speak with Latino voters. For more information on today\u2019s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.\n\nBackground reading:\xa0Though Mr. Sanders is a 78-year-old white senator from Vermont, in California, some Latino supporters are calling him \u201cT\xedo Bernie,\u201d as if he were an uncle or a family friend.Mr. Sanders and Senator Elizabeth Warren, the two leading progressive candidates, sparred publicly in the last debate.