2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: In all the "Bernie would have won/No he wouldn't" posts I've read........... [View all]Garrett78
(10,721 posts)"Which means they feel their beliefs aren't covered by a majority of the Dems or the Repubs."
And that simply isn't true. The vast majority of "independents" are more strongly aligned with a particular party than party-affiliated voters were in past decades. In other words, they're extremely partisan. They simply like calling themselves "independent."
Another factor is that young people are more inclined to be unaffiliated, and it so happens young people constitute a very large bloc of the electorate at this time. By their late 20s, many young people become affiliated.
Again, I explained why "independents" don't call themselves Democrats or Republicans. And it's not because "they feel their beliefs aren't covered by a majority of the Dems or Repubs." You, like many others, are spreading a false narrative. The research on this matter is ripe for reading. Once again, read post #15 and follow the links.