Earlier this week, Bernie Sanders dropped out of the presidential race after a string of losses to former Vice President Joe Biden in the primary elections. Sanders is credited with leading progressive Democrats and making ideas like Medicare For All mainstream, earning the loyalty of many young voters (in our 2020 pre-election survey, college women said he was their top primary candidate).
When Sanders suspended his campaign on Wednesday, Biden put out a statement praising the Vermont senator whose movement "changed the dialogue in America." The day after, Biden rolled out a new policy proposal to forgive student debt for low-income and middle-class families. As the presumptive nominee, it’s a clear Biden is making an attempt to win over progressives and unify the Democratic party after a divisive primary—but will it work?
Whether you supported Bernie or any other candidate throughout the primary, know that there is a home for you in our campaign. You're not just welcome — you're needed. And I will do everything I can to earn your vote this November.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) April 10, 2020
We took to Instagram and asked our community: Are you planning to vote for Joe Biden now that Bernie Sanders has suspended his campaign? 74% said yes they would, but many not without some complicated feelings. As it turns out, Biden has some work to do to energize young people who have been skeptical of his personal record and center-left candidacy. Below is what college women had to say, in their own words.
“Biden is slightly better than Trump, but Bernie is my forever hero.” - Jada
“Voting for Biden is what Bernie would have wanted us to do.” - Viviana
“Anyone is better than Trump at this point.” - Hana
“Biden isn’t a good choice, but the fact that the two choices the American people get is Biden and Trump clearly shows the injustice in our democratic system. Bernie was definitely the people’s choice, but that doesn’t matter to our profit-greedy government.” - Lisa
“Objectively, Biden’s policies are better than Trump’s, and more aligned to my beliefs.” - Kaylee
“A vote for Biden is the only way to vote against Trump.” - Sarah
“While I do like a lot of Bernie’s ideas, I do not think they are plausible to implement in our society today because they are too far left. Also as a result of Bernie being so radical, it would’ve been very unlikely for him to win the election to beat Trump. Biden, on the other hand, is much more moderate, giving him a great chance of actually being able to beat Trump.” - Savannah
“If Bernie is still on the ballot in November somehow, I’ll vote for him. But I can’t let Trump win.” - Helen
“Biden is the lesser of two evils. Honestly, I still want Bernie to be on the ballot.” - Natali
“Bernie’s name will still be on the ballot, fingers crossed.” - Hannah
“I plan on just voting for someone else.” - Katie
“I cannot vote for a sexual predator.” - Maggie
“I don’t vote for rapists.” - Amy
“I will be voting in the down-ballot races, and I cannot vote for a candidate accused of sexual assault.” - Chloe
“I feel very conflicted. I don’t want to vote for Joe Biden since he sexually harasses women and makes excuses for himself. I would give my vote to Elizabeth Warren if she were still in the race.” - Serena
