Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) conceded that “the whole concept of superdelegates is problematic,” but insists all is not lost in his challenge to Hillary Clinton for the nomination.
Clinton leads Sanders in pledged delegates by 1,147 to 830. But she has 467 superdelegates — those not selected by voters, including lawmakers and party officials — to just 26 for Sanders.
Democrats need a total of 2,383 delegates to secure the nomination. Up for grabs still are 2,295 pledged delegates.
Sanders told CBS’ Face the Nation this morning that they’re counting on upcoming states to close the gap.
“Just on Tuesday, we’ve got Idaho, we’ve got Utah, we’ve got Arizona. We’re heading out West to Washington. We’ve got Alaska. We have Hawaii. We’re then heading to New York,” he said. “We think that the path forward is a pretty good path for us. Clearly, Secretary Clinton did very, very well in the Deep South, not a strong area for us. But I think, as we go forward, you’re going to see us doing better and better.”
“And, by the way, I think people are also going to appreciate when they look at the polls that Bernie Sanders does better against Donald Trump than Hillary Clinton does. In fact, in the last NBC poll, we were 18 points ahead of Donald Trump, far more so than Secretary Clinton. I think that will play a factor in the coming states.”
Sanders noted that while Clinton won Illinois and Missouri, the close results effectively split those delegates between the candidates.
Bernie has won nine states. The senator predicted that “as we head to the West Coast, which is probably the most progressive part of America,” he’d rack up even more wins.
“I would say that, in states where we have won by 20, 25 points, you know what? I think it might be good idea for superdelegates to listen to the people in their home state. I just talked to a person the other day who said, you know what, I am going to listen to my state, and if my state votes for you, Bernie, you’re going to have my vote,” he said. “I think that — I would hope that a lot of the superdelegates will take that factor into consideration.”
“…It appears that I am the stronger candidate against Trump; I think you’re going to see some superdelegates saying, you know what? I like Hillary Clinton, but I want to win this thing. Bernie is our guy.”
Sanders heads to Flagstaff, Ariz., on Monday for a rally. On Saturday, he visited the Mexican border with Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Santa Cruz County Sheriff Tony Estrada and two DREAMers. He drew a crowd of more than 14,000 at a Salt Lake City rally on Friday.
Last weekend, Sanders’ wife, Jane, visited the Maricopa County tent jail run by Donald Trump supporter Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
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