--- title: Democratic Debate; Bernie Sanders Talks Electibillity description: Sanders says he can take a Republican in the general election. canonical: https://time.com/4208978/bernie-sanders-ted-cruz-electability/ author: Daniel White article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-02-05T05:38:41.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:41:29.761Z article:section: Politics og:title: How Sanders Echoes Cruz on Electability og:description: They both argue that turning out irregular voters is key. og:url: https://time.com/4208978/bernie-sanders-ted-cruz-electability/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf3e6749831158b3b/69887c3ccf40a82118c41d23/timepol-democratic-debate-bernie-sanders-hillary-clinton-09.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Democratic Presidential Candidates Hillary Clinton And Bernie Sanders Debate In Durham, New Hampshire og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How Sanders Echoes Cruz on Electability twitter:description: They both argue that turning out irregular voters is key. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf3e6749831158b3b/69887c3ccf40a82118c41d23/timepol-democratic-debate-bernie-sanders-hillary-clinton-09.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How Sanders Echoes Cruz on Electability > Sponsored content. 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It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=54cad060-0c2d-425a-b8ae-c0a00b3fa688&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Monday to Saturday (3x per week) | TIME, August 2026 | | Subscribers | 85,000 | TIME, August 2026 | | Open rate | 37.0% | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Philip Elliott, Senior Correspondent | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership The policy influence ecosystem. A policy-focused audience spanning government, public affairs, advocacy, law, research, political media, and the institutions that make, interpret and respond to public policy. ### TIME D.C. Brief: key statements * D.C. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Best Split Screen Moments From The Fifth Democratic Debate [Watch (HLS stream): Best Split Screen Moments From The Fifth Democratic Debate](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/a5OpVU9Y.m3u8) (3:32)  _Published 2016-02-05. The best split screen moments between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton._ by [Daniel White](https://time.com/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Feb 5, 2016 5:38 AM UTC  Democratic presidential candidate U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) speaks during a Democratic debate with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the University of New Hampshire on Feb. 4, 2016 in Durham, N.H. Democratic presidential candidate U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) speaks during a Democratic debate with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the University of New Hampshire on Feb. 4, 2016 in Durham, N.H.Justin Sullivan—Getty Images by [Daniel White](https://time.com/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Feb 5, 2016 5:38 AM UTC Bernie Sanders and Ted Cruz are on the opposite ends of the political spectrum. But on one subject, they sound very similar: their own electability. At Thursday’s Democratic debate in New Hampshire, the Vermont Senator was pressed by moderators on how he could win the general election. His response: By getting more irregular voters to show up. “Democrats win when there is a large voter turnout; when people are excited,” he said. “I believe that our campaign up to now has shown that we can create an enormous amount of enthusiasm from working people, from young people, who will get involved in the political process and which will drive us to a very large voter turnout.” Sanders’ argument echoed one that’s been made by Cruz about his conservative candidacy. “There are a lot of folks in Washington who argue that the way Republicans should win is that they should nominate a candidate from the mushy middle,” [Cruz told Fox News in 2015](http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/04/09/an-awkward-exception-to-cruzs-recipe-for-winning-the-white-house/). “The way Republicans win is we paint in bold colors, not pale pastels—pale pastels is a path to losing.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4208978/bernie-sanders-ted-cruz-electability/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4208978/bernie-sanders-ted-cruz-electability/"},"headline":"How Sanders Echoes Cruz on Electability","datePublished":"2016-02-05T05:38:41.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-19T07:41:29.761Z","description":"Sanders says he can take a Republican in the general election.","url":"https://time.com/4208978/bernie-sanders-ted-cruz-electability/","keywords":["Debates","2016 Election","Bernie Sanders","ted cruz"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf3e6749831158b3b/69887c3ccf40a82118c41d23/timepol-democratic-debate-bernie-sanders-hillary-clinton-09.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Daniel White","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/daniel-white/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf3e6749831158b3b/69887c3ccf40a82118c41d23/timepol-democratic-debate-bernie-sanders-hillary-clinton-09.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Democratic Presidential Candidates Hillary Clinton And Bernie Sanders Debate In Durham, New Hampshire","caption":"Democratic presidential candidate U.S. Sen. 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