Donald Trump has upended the Republican Party in a way that we haven’t seen since Barry Goldwater’s race against Lyndon Johnson in 1964. For decades Republicans have been speaking in code to express the anger of white men in a changing world, particularly on race and immigration. Trump threw that “political correctness” out the window, lifting the curtain on some of the worst aspects of Republican national and “Southern” politics.

Now Trump is on the verge of becoming the Republican nominee, just as Clinton is on the Democratic side. There are convoluted scenarios in which each of them can lose, but neither make much sense mathematically. That’s especially true for Clinton, as Bernie Sanders would have to win 60 percent of all remaining delegates in states that award votes proportionately.

While the Republican primary has been a lesson in what a party doesn’t want and can’t afford in a presidential race, the Democratic primary has been the opposite. It’s been spirited but not nasty. It’s raised important points of policy and strategy, causing the frontrunner to adjust to new realities that weren’t seen before. And it’s paved the way for a unified party in the fall.

For all my Republican friends, I feel your pain. This is not going to be easy and it certainly won’t be fun. The “stop Trump” movement hasn’t had much effect and won’t until there is just one alternative to Trump, which by then may be too late. That would leave the party with just two poisonous choices: a divided convention or a third-party campaign. Each carries the risk of an embarrassing spectacle, at best, and a nightmare at worse.

The larger problem for Trump is that the same messages that have made him the choice of the most angry elements of the party will become radioactive in the fall. Trump now has the highest unfavorability ratings, among the general public, of any candidate for president during the 60 years of modern polling, with more than 65 percent of Americans saying they don’t like him and 20 percent of Republicans saying they won’t vote for him.

In rolling matchups between Clinton and Trump over the last six months, Trump has never led. Today he trails by an average of seven points. In presidential elections decided in 10 to 12 swing states, those numbers are a steep hill to climb.

Of course, a lot can change by November. Republicans will do their best to paper over their differences at this summer’s convention. But after that convention the attacks on Trump won’t be coming from Republicans trying to avoid offending his supporters — they’ll come in the form of ferocious assaults from various directions, all employing his own words.

Not that all is rosy for Clinton. She’s only liked by 10 percent more Americans than Trump. That uneasiness will allow Republicans to cling to the hope that her email problems will eventually overwhelm her. Or that the general public will suddenly care about Bengazi as much as they do. But those are thin reeds upon which to float a national campaign.

Hillary’s greatest threat is Trump’s appeal to blue collar men in swing states. She needs a healthy portion of those historically Democratic votes to win.

That’s where Bernie Sanders has provided an invaluable service to her, and to the party as a whole.

Sander’s campaign has surfaced long-simmering and widespread dissatisfaction among working-class Democrats with the party’s drift toward a too — cozy accommodation with corporate America. Blue collar and younger Democrats are particularly restless and looking for real change. Rolling out new renditions of “Happy Days are Here Again” and calls for “more opportunity” won’t cut it.

What they want is someone who understands that the middle class in America has been under assault for decades, in a determined and relentless form of class warfare that has siphoned their wealth and opportunities upwards to the billionaires, who now control more of the country’s wealth than at any time since the eve of the Great Depression.

Sander’s supporters want more than a uniter. They want a fighter who isn’t afraid to take on the concentrated power of the super-rich.

The way for Clinton to ensure a win — if she’s up for the challenge — is to fully incorporate Bernie’s energy and populism into her appeal. That doesn’t mean that she should embrace all of his ideas. But a combination of Sander’s ideals and moral outrage with her seasoned pragmatism is a winning formula for Democrats.

Alan Caron, a Waterville native, is the owner of The Caron Group and the author of “Maine’s Next Economy” (2015, envisionmaine.org) and “Reinventing Maine Government” (2010). He can be reached at: alancaroninmaine@gmail.com

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