Sanders vows to remain in White House race despite more losses to Biden
Send a link to a friend
[March 12, 2020]
By Lucas Jackson and John Whitesides
BURLINGTON, Vt. (Reuters) - A resolute
Bernie Sanders said on Wednesday he would stay in the Democratic
presidential race despite a series of big losses to front-runner Joe
Biden, promising to keep up the public pressure for his sweeping
economic and social justice proposals.
Sanders acknowledged falling behind the former vice president in the
count of delegates needed to win the nomination, but said he remained
committed to the overarching goal of defeating Republican President
Donald Trump in November.
"On Sunday night, in the first one-on-one debate of this campaign, the
American people will have the opportunity to see which candidate is best
positioned to accomplish that goal," he told reporters.
Biden, 77, and Sanders, 78, will debate in Phoenix on Sunday ahead of
nominating contests next Tuesday in Arizona, Florida, Illinois and Ohio.
On Tuesday, Biden notched decisive primary victories in Michigan and
three other states, taking a big step toward the party's nomination to
take on Trump, 73, and casting doubt on the future of Sanders' White
House bid.
Sanders - who won in North Dakota but had hoped for an upset victory in
the key state of Michigan to boost his flagging chances - said his
anti-corporate economic agenda was winning the ideological battle and
gaining support from young people who are the country's future.
Many Democratic voters, however, still believe Biden has the best chance
of beating Trump, Sanders said.
"While our campaign has won the ideological debate, we are losing the
debate over electability," said the democratic socialist U.S. senator
from Vermont.
Sanders' losses on Tuesday, coming after a series of Biden wins in last
week's Super Tuesday contests in 14 states, put Sanders in a deeper hole
in the delegate count. Biden leads Sanders 786-645 in the race for the
1,991 delegates needed to clinch the nomination at July's Democratic
convention.
Biden has already begun to look ahead to the November election, calling
for party unity and making an appeal to supporters of Sanders.
"We share a common goal, and together we are going to defeat Donald
Trump," Biden said in Philadelphia on Tuesday night, thanking Sanders
and his supporters for their energy and passion.
WAS ONCE FRONT-RUNNER
Just two weeks ago, Sanders was seen as the front-runner after an
impressive win in Nevada in mid-February, while Biden and the other
moderate candidates split the vote of the party's centrists.
[to top of second column]
|
U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders
addresses a news conference in Burlington, Vermont, U.S., March 11,
2020. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
But Democrats who worried Sanders' agenda would doom the party to
defeat in November have rushed to rally around Biden. Biden's
decisive victories on Super Tuesday and in Tuesday's showdown in
Michigan created a growing sense of inevitability about his
candidacy.
Two of the largest Democratic super PACs said they would back Biden,
and former rival Andrew Yang joined other former contenders like
Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Kamala Harris and Cory Booker in
endorsing him.
During his first presidential bid in 2016, Sanders' battle with
eventual winner Hillary Clinton lasted into June, long after the
delegate math made her nomination inevitable.
Sanders said he looked forward to advocating for his progressive
agenda during the debate on Sunday, and previewed some of his
questions for Biden.
"Joe, what are you going to do to end the absurdity of the United
States of America being the only major country on earth where
healthcare is not a human right?" Sanders asked.
"Joe, what are you going to do to end the absurdity of billionaires
buying elections and the three wealthiest Americans owning more
wealth than the bottom half of our people," he said.
The debate in Phoenix will not have an in-person audience because of
health concerns over the coronavirus outbreak, which forced Sanders
and Biden to cancel events in Cleveland on Tuesday. It was unclear
how the pandemic might affect the campaign going forward.
Biden planned to deliver remarks on Thursday on the issue, which he
has characterized as a test of presidential leadership. His campaign
canceled planned public events in Florida and Illinois and converted
them into "virtual" campaign events to minimize health risks.
(Reporting by Michael Martina in Detroit, John Whitesides in
Washington and Trevor Hunnicutt in Philadelphia; Additional
reporting by Doina Chiacu, Ginger Gibson and Chris Kahn in
Washington; Writing by John Whitesides; Editing by Scott Malone,
Howard Goller and Peter Cooney)
[© 2020 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2020 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |