Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) overcame a nearly 7 point deficit in the polling average to defeat Hillary Clinton by more than 5 points in Indiana.
With 81 percent reporting, Sanders led Clinton 52.7 percent to 47.3 percent.
“I want to thank the people of Indiana for the great upset victory that they gave us tonight. This is the 18th state that we have won, and we expect more victories in the weeks to come,” Sanders said in a statement. He gave an address to a rally earlier in the evening before results were in.
“The Clinton campaign thinks this campaign is over. They’re wrong. Maybe it’s over for the insiders and the party establishment, but the voters in Indiana had a different idea. The campaign wasn’t over for them. It isn’t over for the voters in West Virginia. It isn’t over for Democrats in Oregon, New Jersey and Kentucky. It isn’t over for voters in California and all the other states with contests still to come,” Sanders continued.
“We understand that we have an uphill climb to victory but we have been fighting uphill from the first day of this campaign. We are in this campaign to win and we’re going to fight until the last vote is cast. There is nothing I would like more than to take on and defeat Donald Trump, someone who must never become president of this country.”
Sanders stressed that “the voters in the remaining contests deserve a chance to compare my record and Hillary Clinton’s record on creating jobs, raising the minimum wage, war and peace, the need for healthcare for all, breaking up big banks, combating climate change and other critical issues.”
“To help voters make the best-informed choice possible, I hope that Secretary Clinton will agree to a date and place for a debate in California.”
The Clinton camp ignored Sanders’ win, as she still has a sizable lead with superdelegates — convention voters whose minds Bernie hopes to change.
Hillary campaign chairman John Podesta focused instead on Donald Trump’s win and RNC Chairman Reince Priebus’ tweet about Trump being the presumptive nominee.
“Fundamentally, our next president will need to do two things: keep our nation safe in a dangerous world and help working families get ahead here at home. Donald Trump is not prepared to do either,” Podesta said. “Throughout this campaign, Donald Trump has demonstrated that he’s too divisive and lacks the temperament to lead our nation and the free world.”
“With so much at stake, Donald Trump is simply too big of a risk. Hillary Clinton has proven that she has the strength to keep us safe in an uncertain world and a lifelong record of fighting to break down the barriers–economic and social–that hold working families back. While Donald Trump seeks to bully and divide Americans, Hillary Clinton will unite us to create an economy that works for everyone.”
The campaign said it raised $2.4 million in three days off Trump’s remarks that Hillary was running on the “women’s card.”
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