It doesn’t really exist. At least not in states that can be expected to help elect a Democratic president.

It's occurred to most conscientious observers that the DNC’s carefully arranged primary schedule strongly favored a conservative candidate. It helped reinforce the illusion of HRC’s inevitability. But illusion is all that it is. It's masking the likelihood of a disaster should she win the nomination.

HRC’s “victories” in all those states that once belonged to the Confederacy mean absolutely nothing in terms of winning the White House. In fact, if we were to look only at states highly likely to deliver electoral votes for a Democratic candidate, Bernie would be winning the race by a nearly 2-to-1 margin.

None of this is meant to disparage Democratic voters in dark red states. I very much appreciate their efforts to fight the good fight. I’m sure their sensibilities are assaulted by conservatives on a daily basis. It has to be a difficult existence.

But, the fact of the matter is that those states are highly unlikely to support any Democrat in November. Of the states Hillary has won by a decisive margin, South Carolina, Alabama, Texas and Mississippi fell to the GOP in nine straight presidential elections. North Carolina went Republican in eight of the last nine. Arkansas, Georgia, Tennessee, Louisiana and Arizona have all gone GOP in four or five straight elections.

In fact, of the states Hillary won decisively, only two have much chance of going blue this fall. Ohio went for the Democrat in four of the last six elections, while Virginia did the same in the last two (but went red for eight straight before that).

Bernie, on the other hand, has won decisively in Democratic strongholds like Minnesota (10 of last 10 for Dems); Wisconsin, Washington and Hawaii (seven straight for Dems); Vermont and Maine (six for six); and New Hampshire (five of last six). He also won big in Colorado, which went Dem in the last two elections.

Looking at states where there were decisive victories this spring, and using only electoral votes the Democrats can likely count on in the fall, Bernie would lead 51-31 (63% to 37%).

Let’s look at the five contests which were relatively close -- Iowa, Nevada, Massachusetts, Oklahoma and Michigan. First of all, you can disregard Oklahoma, as it’s gone GOP in 10 straight presidential elections. Hillary won Massachusetts by 1.4%, and it’s gone Dem in seven straight elections. She gets that one, making the electoral count 51-42 Bernie. She won Iowa by .3%, and it’s gone Dem in two of the last three elections (and six of the last 10), so we’ll give her that one. That makes it 51-48 Bernie. HRC won Nevada by five points, and it’s gone Dem four of the last six elections, so put that one in her column, and she takes the lead 54-51.

But then there’s Michigan, which Bernie won by 1.5%, and which has gone Dem in six straight elections. That puts him back on top, 67-54 (55% to 45%).

Look at the enthusiasm for Bernie in Democratic strongholds. If HRC gets the nomination, that will be gone in a heartbeat. If HRC gets the nomination, we’re looking at a disaster of epic proportions this fall, at a time when the world can’t afford it.

Seems to me that if you’re interested in winning the White House, you back the candidate who’s been most capable of winning states that can be counted on to provide electoral votes. There’s no question who that candidate is.

Bernie Sanders.