Bernie Sanders Becomes First Jewish Candidate to Win a Primary

A significant piece of history was made Tuesday:

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) may or may not make history as the first self-described democratic socialist to win a major party’s nomination, but he already notched a famous first on Tuesday night, becoming the first Jewish candidate — and the first non-Christian — to win a presidential primary. Sanders has been projected to easily beat Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire’s Democratic primary, just nine days after coming in a close second in the Iowa caucuses (where Sanders was the first Jewish candidate to win delegates in a presidential primary, something Joe Lieberman never achieved).

Some are arguing this is less a big deal than it may seem, noting that since Joe Lieberman ran as the first Jewish Vice Presidential candidate 12 years ago, some other strides have been made:

An African American was elected president, a Mormon won the Republican nomination and a woman is widely viewed as the favorite to win in 2016. Suddenly the whole first-Jewish-president thing seems like a yawner.

Perhaps. Still, it’s a little slice of history that should not pass unnoticed.

Photo: Wikipedia