By Byron York
Texas Insider Report: WASHINGTON D.C. Shes the epitome of the establishment and the corrupt politicians and there are so many things to dislike about her said J.T. Stanley a senior who is one of the co-founders of Terps for Bernie. My number-one issue is money in politics... Thats my single issue and thats why I despise Hillary. Shes the devil.
A few hours before a Democratic debate earlier this year the Bernie Sanders campaign sent out word it had organized 4000 watch parties across the country. It was hard to confirm that number but Team Sanders did link to a map of the U.S. with a dot marking every party and there were certainly a lot of dots.
One of those dots was at the University of Maryland. And the watch party wasnt a dozen people gathered at someones house or a small room in a brew pub. Instead the pro-Sanders group Terps for Bernie working with co-sponsor the University of Maryland College Democrats reserved a 500-seat auditorium at the Stamp Student Union and managed to fill about 300.
As he was across the country Bernie got a big turnout. Yes the Terps for Bernie love Bernie. But just as important in this race many just dont like Hillary.
What young and idealistic college student would? Sanders has inspired their passions about inequality about climate change money in politics gay rights. Clinton doesnt.
Stanley described his views as radical. But there werent the warmest feelings for Clinton elsewhere in the room either.
Its easy to view her as someone who flip flops on the issues said another Terps for Bernie co-founder Christopher Walkup a junior.
It just seems like shes moving farther to the Left to pander to that demographic and not because she authentically believes in that … She just seems to be getting more liberal the more liberal her opponents get.
Walkup said he realized not long ago that when Hillary Clinton was the age he is now she was a Barry Goldwater supporter. Case closed. Even the students who are open to Clinton have found supporting her a difficult task.I actually used to feel very strongly towards Hillary Clinton I was very excited to see the first woman in the White House said Cayli Baker a sophomore who is vice president of University of Maryland College Democrats which organized the event along with Terps for Bernie.
I feel like Ive parted from her a bit personally based on my ideology and the stances shes taken on things. I feel very up in the air right now.
Baker deeply concerned about climate change cited the long time Clinton took to oppose the Keystone XL pipeline as one reason for her doubts. I used to be very very committed to the Ready for Hillary movement but now Im kind of questioning who Ill vote for.
When the debate began Sanders pushed virtually all the crowds buttons and that was just his opening statement. Money in politics. Climate change. Mass incarceration. CNN moderator Anderson Cooper summed up the contrast in his first question to Clinton when he described her flip-flops and asked Will you say anything to get elected?
Cheers for the question and jeers for Clinton. The crowd liked that one a lot.
But as the students saw it Sanders gathered strength as he went along. A strong answer on Black Lives Matter. A tough retort to Clinton on breaking up the big banks Congress does not regulate Wall Street. Wall Street regulates Congress. A stand for legalized marijuana and against the war on drugs.
And all along denunciations of millionaires and billionaires and the one percent or one-tenth of one percent who are taking a grossly disproportionate share of the nations wealth.
There was also one unusual factor in play in the room. It was the University of Maryland and former Maryland Gov. Martin OMalley (right) was one of the candidates on stage. Many of the students were home-staters and while they had no memory of Hillary Clintons time in the White House as first lady they did remember OMalley as their governor.
Although OMalley struggling to find his footing in the race probably helped himself in the debate nationwide there was definitely more pro-OMalley feeling in the Stamp Student Union than in other gatherings across the country.
Before the debate as students came in the organizers gave each a clear plastic bead. The idea was that after the debate there would be a jar for each candidate and people would put their beads in the jar of the candidate they thought won the debate.
Not everybody voted but when it was all over Bernie was the big winner with 139 votes. OMalley came in second with 67 votes.
And Hillary? Just 17 votes.
Out of a total of 233 cast Clinton won just 17 votes. Former Virginia Senator Jim Webb and former Connecticut Senator Lincoln Chafee each received five votes apiece.
Bernie was the man before the debate and he remained the man after the debate.
When it was over a number of quickie assessments by national reporters and analysts confidently declared Clinton winner of the debate. (Clinton crushes it reported Politico.) But focus groups showed something different. A group on Fox News along with one on CNN some online polls and social media indicators they all said Sanders won.
None of it was scientific but it pointed to a phenomenon thats often seen in this kind of situation. Establishment opinion awards 
victory to the most polished performer while voters look past the performance to the substance with sometimes differing results.
Thats what happened in College Park. No Bernie didnt win the style contest. But he came out just fine.
Byron York is Chief Political Correspondent for the Washington Examiner a Fox News contributor author of The Vast Left Wing Conspiracy.
