Socialist Sanders Has Same Chance as Hillary in General Election?

Yes, according to recent polling.  Interestingly, Hillary Clinton’s numbers were hardly impressive.  All prominent GOP candidates, except Donald Trump, bested her, albeit narrowly.

But surprisingly, Bernie Sanders did just as well.  I say surprising, at least to me, because the Vermont Senator is a proclaimed socialist.  He wants a fully socialized medical system (Obamacare is not enough for him) and thinks America should pattern its economy and welfare system in accord with the example of European countries like Sweden.

Does that mean that half of the electorate is now socialist?  To be sure, President Obama has been successful in pulling already leftist democrats further in that direction, but does that mean that many Americans have really gone that far?

I doubt it. 

It’s reasonable to say disgruntlement in the U.S. toward mainstream politicians cuts across ideological lines.  People listen to Trump and back him for what they like and ignore the rest.  Sanders berates billionaires and most who are not applaud him.  Given the well documented ignorance of the broad electorate of politics and policy, it’s rather unlikely that the bulk of Sanders’ support is based on the fact that he is a socialist.  The label “socialist’ for many of his backers, if they are aware of the term, is more likely associated with Bernie Sanders being a frequent user of social media.