Sanders: I can still win
Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders sent an aggressive signal to rival Hillary Clinton’s campaign Tuesday night that he’s still in the race and fighting to win.
“As of today, we have now won 16 primaries and caucuses all over this country, and with your help we’re going to win here in West Virginia,” Sanders told a screaming crowd in Huntington, W.Va., Tuesday evening.
{mosads}Given West Virginia votes on May 10, the setting for the Sanders rally sent a clear signal that the Vermont senator isn’t dropping out of the race anytime soon despite pressure from Clinton allies and establishment Democrats. On Tuesday, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) declared that Sanders had no viable path to the Democratic nomination.
But Sanders didn’t concede an inch as he addressed his West Virginia rally while primary returns were rolling in across five Atlantic states.
Sanders made a direct pitch to Democratic superdelegates, calling on them to reconsider their support for Clinton given Sanders defeats the likely Republican nominee, Donald Trump, by a greater margin than Clinton beats him in polls.
Sanders also blamed the process, criticizing the “closed” nature of Democratic primaries, such as New York, where voters needed to be registered as Democrats in October to be eligible to vote in the April 19 primary. Clinton beats Sanders among loyal Democrats and won New York by double digits.
Sanders beats Clinton among independents, and at his rally Tuesday night he asked Democratic superdelegates to remember the general election is not a closed primary. He claimed he would perform better than Clinton among a wider electorate.
“That is a point that I hope delegates to the Democratic [National C]onvention fully understand,” Sanders said. “In a general election, everyone — Democrat, independent, Republican — has the right to vote.”
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