If Bernie Sanders will win the election, one might imagine that the 2016 voting results will be a close one in regards to beating Hillary Clinton at the Democratic nominations. The fact that Sanders is a Democratic socialist may also seem like a major obstacle him becoming the president, but it’s not. The current poll data for Clinton and Sanders may also appear like another barrier to be broken, since the former secretary of state still leads the Vermont senator in the Democratic caucuses, but that’s also a minor issue.

One 2016 prediction claims that Sanders’ supporters have nothing to fear, since Western Illinois University predicts that a ticket with Martin O’Malley will win in a landslide. Why is this important? WIU has successfully predicted the United States presidential election results since 1975, and Sanders’ supporters are hoping these 2016 predictions are right on the money once again.

In a related report by The Inquisitr, other new reports are claiming that Bernie Sanders will be president in 2017. It is claimed that Hillary Clinton “indirectly controls the PR arm of the Democratic Party, and this hidden string-pulling has been critical in establishing the myth that Hillary’s presidency is inevitable.” Sanders has social media on his side, and some believe that if more Americans hear Sanders speak then he will win in a landslide.

Bernie Sanders [Image via Getty Images]

How Bernie Sanders Will Be President — Maybe

Coincidentally, that scenario is also what the mock presidential elections at Western Illinois University are predicting. The students simulated the Iowa Caucuses and the state primaries, the national nominating conventions and the Electoral College vote.

When it comes to the Democratic nominations, it is predicted that Bernie Sanders will win in 22 out of 26 primary states. It is believed that Clinton will make it past Super Tuesday, but will still lose out before the month of March. This victory by Sanders is also predicted to be a massive landslide, with Clinton grabbing 644 delegates while Sanders wins with 1,836.

The interesting part is that the simulation had Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio representing the Republican ticket, not Donald Trump. Bush is currently in last place among the GOP front runner in the polls, noticeably behind other candidates like Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, and Bush’s predicted vice presidential partner.

Out of all the 2016 predictions being made, this one is interesting because both Trump and Carson have discussed the possibility that the GOP establishment will not pick them even if they do secure the popular vote among Republicans. There is even talk of Mitt Romney suddenly entering the race at the national convention.

Regardless, the WIU results claim that Sanders will win in a landslide, grabbing 404 electoral votes while Bush only manages to secure 114 electoral votes in Republican stronghold states like Texas.

With more than 400 Electoral College votes, the Democratic ticket—Bernie Sanders, president, and Martin O'Malley, vice president—was declared the winner in Western Illinois University's third Mock Presidential Election [Image via WIU]

While it remains to be seen whether these 2016 predictions are accurate, the WIU notes that they have “yielded spot-on results” in the past.

“Western’s MPE may be the most accurate political bellwether in the country. In 2007, Western students accurately elected Democrat Barack Obama president of the United States—one year before it actually happened. In 2011, WIU students accurately predicted a narrow Obama reelection over the Republican ticket of Governor Mitt Romney and Congressman Paul Ryan,” WIU Centennial Honors College Director Richard Hardy explained.

Bernie Sanders (Photo by Charlie Leight/Getty Images)

Bernie Sanders’ Socialist Beliefs Won’t Prevent Him From Winning The Election

Considering the history of socialism in the world, many might assume this track record would hold back a self-proclaimed Democratic socialist. To some, Sanders’ brand of Democratic Socialism is only a step away from the socialism of the former USSR and the Cold War, but polls indicate that 47 percent of Americans are now willing to vote for a socialist, no matter how it is defined.

“For people 30 years of age and younger, saying, ‘Bernie Sanders is a socialist’ cuts exactly no ice,” explained economics professor Richard Wolff. “It’s useless. It doesn’t persuade anyone. Those battles are now two or three decades old. For young people, this is barely known history.”

Do you think Bernie Sanders will win the election in 2016? What do you think about the WIU prediction that Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio will take on the Democrats, not Donald Trump?

[Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images]