Pollster and HarrisX CEO Dritan Nesho said on Tuesday that the anti-establishment movement within American politics will be a long-term phenomenon.
“I think Bernie Sanders did well for exactly the same reasons that [President] Trump did well. He ran as an outsider candidate. He ran as a candidate that was trying to shake the establishment. That’s very appealing to American voters,” Nesho told Hill.TV’s Joe Concha on “What America’s Thinking.”
“We saw this for several of the leading candidates, primarily the person that won the presidency. So I think this phenomenon is here to stay. There’s definitely a vein of unhappiness within American politics that needs to be addressed, and will take some time to sort out,” he continued.
Nesho’s comments come as other anti-establishment candidates, such as New York congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, gain prominence.
Ocasio-Cortez beat longtime Rep. Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.) in the state’s 14th congressional district’s Democratic Primary last month.
However, establishment figures, such as House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), have cautioned that Ocasio-Cortez is not representative of the national Democratic Party.
“It’s ascendant in that district perhaps,” Pelosi said referring to New York’s 14th District, where Ocasio-Cortez is running. “But I don’t accept any characterization of our party presented by the Republicans. So let me reject that right now.”
— Julia Manchester
–This report was updated on July 25 at 8:45 a.m.
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