They saw one or the other as their champion: Sanders the "political revolutionary" who'd reclaim power from the privileged few; Trump, the authoritarian strongman who'd wrest power back from an establishment that's usurped it.
The people I encountered told me the moneyed interests couldn't buy off Sanders because he wouldn't take their money, and they couldn't buy off Trump because he didn't need their money.
Now, six months later, the political establishment has fought back, and Sanders's prospects for taking the Democratic nomination are dimming. Trump may well win the Republican mantle but not without a brawl.
As I said, I expect most Sanders backers will still support Hillary Clinton if she's the nominee. And even if Trump doesn't get the Republican nod, most of his backers will go with whoever the Republican candidate turns out to be.
But anyone who assumes a wholesale transfer of loyalty from Sanders's supporters to Clinton, or from Trump's to another Republican standard-bearer, may be in for a surprise.
The anti-establishment fury in the election of 2016 may prove greater than supposed.
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