U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders told supporters Thursday afternoon he is continuing his presidential campaign despite big losses over the past few weeks in South Carolina, on Super Tuesday, and on “Mini Super Tuesday.”
Acknowledging “we are currently losing the delegate count,” Sanders says he will go on to debate former Vice President Joe Biden on Sunday.
“We are winning the generational debate,” Sanders said Wednesday. “Our campaign continues to win the vast majorities of votes of younger people.”
But he also conceded “we are losing the debate over electability.”
Last night Sanders lost to Biden in at least four of six states, making his path to a nomination difficult if not all but impossible. The New York Times described Sanders’ recent performance as “a series of crushing losses to former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. that significantly narrowed his path to victory.”
Former Obama Press Secretary Robert Gibbs weighed in on the strength of Biden’s wins Tuesday night:
According to the Associated Press, Sanders currently has 709 delegates, Biden has 857. More will be awarded after Washington state is counted. Sanders currently leads Biden there by 2084 votes.
Sanders won the Iowa and Nevada Caucuses and the California, Colorado, Utah, Vermont, and North Dakota primaries. Just weeks ago many saw him as the frontrunner and felt Biden’s campaign was finished.
But Biden then overwhelmingly won South Carolina, and went on to win Alabama, Arkansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Idaho, Michigan, Mississippi, and Missouri.
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