It is a nightmare scenario for the Democratic leadership. A significant poll now reveals that Democratic voters are enthusiastically embracing Sen. Bernard Sanders‘ feel-good populist pitch and skipping all the socialism scare fare from his critics. Perhaps Sanders voters pine to feel the same joy and exuberance that Trump voters felt back in 2016. Perhaps not.

Meanwhile, these voters are casting a critical eye on the direction of their own party. Yes, there are numbers. They are good for Bernie the strident socialist, bad for the Democratic establishment.

“Sen. Bernie Sanders is consolidating support for the Democratic presidential nod following his victory in the Nevada caucuses, as the party’s primary voters grow more bullish on the Vermont independent’s chances of beating President Trump in November,” reports Morning Consult analyst Eli Yokley.

A new Morning Consult poll of 2,631 Democratic primary voters conducted Sunday, the day after Nevada held its caucuses, found 32% of those voters now back Mr. Sanders as their first choice for president, with former New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg in distant second place at 20%.

This is the biggest national lead that Mr. Sanders has had during the campaign, and that support is up by 2 percentage points in a poll conducted just three days earlier.

“At the same time, a separate Morning Consult survey of 954 Democratic primary voters also conducted Sunday found 34% said Sanders has the best chance of beating Trump, up 5 percentage points from the post-New Hampshire poll and 11 percentage points higher than the share who identified Bloomberg as the most electable Democratic candidate,” writes Mr. Yokley.

Oh, but wait. There are more alarming findings for establishment leaders in the Democratic Party: Morning Consult numbers also reveal that only one-third of Democratic voters say their party is “headed in the right direction.”

Uh-oh.

And while White House adviser Kellyanne Conway an other insiders say — and with good reason — that Mr. Sanders can’t match Mr. Trump’s charisma, productivity and “electricity,” the Morning Consult numbers also reveals one more trend.

“A 46% plurality in the latest poll said they believe Trump will defeat the Democratic nominee later this year, roughly matching responses collected after Iowa and New Hampshire,” Mr. Yokley says.

A TRUE TRUMP MOMENT

President Trump recently spoke at the Hope for Prisoners “reentry” graduation ceremony at the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Headquarters — and he had a message for the 29 graduates who had completed their job training and life-skills instruction. There were no media members present.

“Today we declare that you are made by God for a great and noble purpose, and you are valued members of our American family. We are determined to help you succeed and we are going to work with you,” the president told the graduates.

Megan Fox, a PJ Media columnist, wrote that “Trump has often expressed his support for criminal justice reform, signing into law several acts that reduced sentencing, shortened jail terms, and stopped the chaining of women in prison as they give birth. His appearance at the Hope for Prisoners graduation affirms his commitment to second chances and investing in people who have been incarcerated as worthwhile members of our community.”

“President Trump’s dedication to and interest in solving these issues that face the forgotten men and women who have served time in prison are a constant presence in his presidency. While critics have claimed that his interest in criminal justice reform is a cynical ploy to get votes, the impact he is having on former criminals is undeniably positive,” Ms. Fox says.

‘THIS IS NOT THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY’

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is charting change in the Democratic members of Congress as the lawmakers across the aisle veer sharply left.

“They embrace Bernie Sanders‘ policies. They embrace socialism. More than half of the Democrats in Congress have co-sponsored Medicare for All. Almost half support a Green New Deal,” Mr. McCarthy tells Fox News, predicting that the Democrats could lose their grip on the House.

“The real reason why they will lose the majority is this. What have they accomplished? They’ve accomplished nothing. They have issued more subpoenas than laws. They have not moved this Congress forward. This is not the Democratic Party of the past. This is the Socialist Democratic Party that thinks Fidel Castro is a good person,” Mr. McCarthy continues.

He has another prediction.

“If you really want to know what’s going to happen in the next election go to the question Ronald Reagan always asked: ‘Are you better off today than you were [four] years ago?’ And the answer to that question is yes by more than 60% of Americans. Everybody’s is better off,” he says.

THE EVER-EXPANDING GOP WAR CHEST

The funds just keep on arriving. The Trump campaign and Republican National Committee raised $60.5 million in the January. Simple math reveals this amounts to almost $2 million a day. In case you are curious, the campaign received $525 million in donations in 2019.

“President Trump’s campaign and the RNC continue to be fundraising juggernauts,” says Brad Parscale, Mr. Trump’s campaign manager who advises that “every dollar” will fuel the president’s 2020 ground operation — which also includes an astonishing 500,000 volunteers.

POLL DU JOUR

• 77% of voters age 18 to 34 are “certain to” or “probably will” vote in the presidential election; 82% of Republicans, 63% of independents and 86% of Democrats in that age group agree.

• 23% of such voters will not vote or don’t know whether they will vote; 19% of Republicans, 36% of independents and 15% of Democrats agree.

• 61% of voters age 18 to 34 say President Trump does not deserve reelection; 23% of Republicans, 61% of independents and 85% of Democrats.

• 27% of such voters say Mr. Trump deserves reelection; 63% of Republicans, 18% of independents and 8% of Democrats agree.

• 13% “don’t know” if he deserves reelection; 14% of Republicans, 21% of independents and 6% of Democrats agree.

Source: A Teen Vogue/IPSOS poll of 2,206 U.S. adults ages 18-34 conducted Nov. 1-30, 2019 and released Friday.

• Kindly follow Jennifer Harper on Twitter @HarperBulletin.

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