Billionaire Donald Trump and the self-described Democratic socialist Bernie Sanders may be at polar opposite ends of the US political spectrum, but they have one crucial factor in common: both appeal to the millions of Americans left behind in an economy that has never fully recovered from the 2008 crash.

Both Trump and Sanders have surprised analysts, pundits and political prognosticators in Washington, who originally expected both men to fade out quickly in the 2016 US presidential race.

But in fact the opposite has happened, with Trump becoming a front-runner in the Republican camp and Sanders continuing an impressive challenge to Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton.

While one candidate is a right-leaning populist and the other is far to the left, both Trump and Sanders are anti-establishment figures who appeal to the millions of Americans who continue to feel the sting of the 2008 economic downturn.

For these voters, neither the Republican nor the Democratic establishments have helped them as they've struggled to make ends meet over the past seven years.

Republican strategist Ford O' Connell noted that there is disenchantment not only in the Republican Party - a current fascination of the U.S. media - but also in the Democratic Party.

"If the media were not so preoccupied with the Republican circus, they'd actually be...shedding light on the growing divide on the left," he said, adding that Sanders' popularity shows the high level of Democratic voters' disenchantment with the Washington elite.

Source: XINHUA