Democrats: One year ago, if you imagined the best case scenario on July 1, 2020...

[Beefalow and the Consumer]

Things are pretty good if you're a Democrat or left-leaning independent.

[TiltsAreUnderrated]

I'd have preferred a different nominee (and voted "better than reality"), but the best case scenario in terms of EC and PV margin would still be a bit worse. At the time, I thought the strongest potential nominee of those who'd announced would be Steve Bullock, although I think I supported Warren for ideological reasons at this point.

[Lambsbread]

I mean, I was imaging best case scenario would be Joe Biden not being the nominee and I was convinced Biden would have no chance against Trump, so I guess reality has surpassed my expectations.

[Mr. Smith]

Besides the whole, "different nominee" thing, whatever reality I came up with would not include something like COVID-19.

[Beefalow and the Consumer]

Besides the whole, "different nominee" thing, whatever reality I came up with would not include something like COVID-19.

Very good point. I would rather live in a world with no COVID and Trump winning than 2020 as it stands now.

[Ferguson97]

There were only a handful of candidates I preferred over Biden (O'Rourke, Harris, and Booker), but I really didn't think we'd be anywhere near flipping Texas or Iowa. Reality has surpassed my wildest expectations.

[Hope For A New Era]

Well, I certainly didn't expect the pandemic, but the polls + constant "long-term" Trump scandals are exceeding my wildest dreams. The best I thought I could hope for was Bernie Sanders winning a narrow victory by flipping the three Great Lakes states and possibly Arizona, with a Democratic House and 50/50 Senate.

We're very lucky to have nominated Biden instead, I think. He's exactly the kind of person who appeals to people right now - a familiar and "safe" choice who is positioned in the optimal "big tent" position on the political spectrum. Sanders would still be leading, but he would not be anywhere close to this in the polls.

[McGarnagle]

Yeah, I know, green avatar - but I'm voting Democratic

I would have pictured presumptive nominee Bernie Sanders leading by between 5 to 7 points in most polling, comfortably ahead in MI, WI and PA. I'd picture a recession emerging that would be less severe than it actually is now.

While I'm glad Trump appears to be headed for a loss, I'll always view it as a missed opportunity that Sanders never became President. In addition, it is deeply unfortunate that it took catastrophic mismanagement of this pandemic and the bottom falling out of the economy for many people to realize that Trump was never fit for office.

I hope that Biden, if and when he becomes President, recognizes that progressives will be an essential part of his coalition, and that his long-term political legacy depends on his ability and willingness to deliver progress on policy goals in terms of housing, health care, social justice, workers' rights, women's rights, racial equality and the environment - now more than ever at this precarious time. The country is more broken than at any time in living memory, and if there is not a sea change in how it is governed, I doubt it will survive the century.

[Lief 🗽]

Biden was like my sixth choice, so this is not really my best case scenario. I did not expect the nominee to have a credible chance of 400+ electoral votes though.

[Catalyst138]

Depends on how “best case scenario” is viewed.

I wanted Sanders to win and obviously I didn’t want a deadly virus and police brutality to be the reasons Trump is likely to lose. But in terms of the election itself, I used to think Trump had a slight advantage and the most the Dems could realistically get is a narrow victory. So in that respect, reality has far surpassed my expectations.

[Hindsight was 2020]

I was on team Sanders so it isn’t my best case scenario but Biden is doing a lot better than I thought

[Tekken_Guy]

He’s doing even better than I expected. I certainly did not see the Senate as a likely pickup for Democrats, nor did I see myself actually wanting Biden to win.

I used to be a huge Trump fan early in his presidency. Now I no longer support him.

[Epaminondas]

Very good point. I would rather live in a world with no COVID and Trump winning than 2020 as it stands now.

Er, no. My old aunt died of Covid and I'm stuck in another country without any means to return to work because of it.

I'd still gladly take another big slice of Covid to rid the world of Trumpism. In fact, if I had a cure in my basement, I'd wait until Election Day to release it, just to be sure the GOP loses convincingly. That's how corrosive to democracies around the world the party is.