A few things stick out. First, Biden's greatest strength is with women and African Americans. My guess is that these constituencies feel the most vulnerable to Trumpism, and they want to make the safest bet possible. For women, Biden seems like a tactical choice: If Hillary could lose to Trump, why not nominate a man? For African Americans, Biden represents a return to Obama.
Sanders strongest support comes from men. It was always hard not to see Sanders' campaign in 2016 as a "not Hillary" vote as much as a pro-Socialism vote. As Biden vaults ahead of him, how much of that is because of simple hidden (and not so hidden) sexism? If there is one candidate that was hurt by Biden's entry, it was Bernie. Given how far away they are on the issues, that suggests that the real support for Bernie was because he was a dude, rather than because of a strong preference for Denmark style social democracy.
I'm struck, also, but the weakness for Harris. I think she might be the best "politician" of any of them.
The great fallacy of campaigns is that voters make a rational decision based on policy preferences, intellect and character. But what happens as African Americans get reminded of some of Biden's long ago votes for things like the bankruptcy bill or the crime bill? Will women be repelled by Biden's handsiness? And if Biden fades, who benefits?
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