Bernie Sanders will remain in presidential race after primary losses
A defiant Bernie Sanders said Wednesday that he will continue to compete in the Democratic primary, despite a wave of disappointing results in the primaries that took place Tuesday. "Last night obviously was not a good night for our campaign from a delegate point of view," he said. "We lost in the largest state up for grabs yesterday, the state of Michigan. We lost in Missouri, Mississippi and Idaho."
But he noted that he had won the North Dakota primary and currently leads in Washington, with about two-thirds of the votes counted. Sanders said that while he's losing in the delegate count, his campaign is the one that is the champion of the progressive movement and of young people.
"We are strongly winning in two enormously important areas which will determine the future of our country," Sanders said, pointing to support for his progressive positions.
His obstacle, he said, is electability. Sanders said his campaign talks to voters who say they love Sanders' policies but don't think he can win.
Forging ahead, Sanders said, "Today, I say to the Democratic establishment: In order to win in the future, you need to win the voters that represent the future of country."
He also jabbed at opponent and front-runner Joe Biden. "We cannot be satisfied by just winning older votes," Sanders said. Sanders then said previewed his one-on-one debate with Biden, which will take place Sunday night, by going through a list of questions, which all begin, "Joe, what are you gonna do about ...?" The topics encompass health care, climate change, criminal justice and education.
Sanders now heads to NYC to tape Jimmy Fallon.
On Tuesday evening, Sanders did not speak to supporters, after canceling a rally in Cleveland, Ohio, due to concerns over the coronavirus outbreak. The loss in Michigan in particular is a significant blow for Sanders, since he narrowly defeated Hillary Clinton in a surprise upset in the state's 2016 Democratic primary.
Biden, Sanders and Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard are the only three candidates remaining in the race. Several former candidates have endorsed Biden in the past week, including Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Beto O'Rourke and Andrew Yang.
In a speech Tuesday evening, Biden made an overture to Sanders and his supporters, indicating that he will be seeking their support as he continues to rack up primary victories.
"I want to thank Bernie Sanders and his supporters for their tireless energy and passion," Biden said. "Together, we'll defeat Donald Trump."
As of Wednesday morning, Biden held the lead with 832 delegates to Sanders' 675 delegates. A candidate needs to win 1,991 of the party's delegates to secure the Democratic Party's nomination.