Sanders Focuses on Crucial Michigan But Says Not Make-Or-Break
Sanders is focused on the “enormously important” prize of delegate-rich Michigan in this week’s Democratic primaries.
(Bloomberg) -- Senator Bernie Sanders is focused on the “enormously important” prize of delegate-rich Michigan in this week’s round of Democratic primary voting, but said he doesn’t plan to drop out if he fails to win there.
As he trails Joe Biden going into Tuesday’s contests, Sanders is eager for a repeat of the Michigan win he logged in his 2016 bid for the Democratic nomination.
Winning a majority of Michigan’s 125 delegates could help bridge the gap the former vice president opened up on Super Tuesday, and Sanders has spent most of the weekend campaigning there. Five other states hold nominating contests on Tuesday, including Washington state and Missouri.
“Michigan is very, very significant,” Sanders said on Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday, one of four political talk show appearances.
He said he expects a boost from the support of Reverend Jesse Jackson Jr. at Michigan rallies this weekend, and argued that trade deals supported by Biden as a senator from Delaware had “devastated” the state.
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the high-profile New York Democrat and top Sanders surrogate, was also scheduled to rally with Sanders at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the campaign has turned away from places like Mississippi, where Sanders acknowledged “it’s going to be tough” for him.
‘Feeling Good’
Sanders said on “Fox News Sunday” he has no plan to stop his run if faced with a Michigan disappointment, adding, “I’m feeling good about the momentum we have.”
However, on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” the candidate said his delegate count might have been better after Super Tuesday if what he called “the political establishment” hadn’t pressured Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar to drop out right before the voting.
“If they had not withdrawn from the race before Super Tuesday, which is kind of a surprise to a lot of people, I suspect we would have won in Minnesota, we would have won in Maine, we would have won in Massachusetts,” Sanders said.
“What was very clear from the media narrative and what the establishment wanted was to make sure that people coalesced around Biden and try to defeat me,” Sanders said on ABC’s “This Week.”
Still, beating President Donald Trump remains the most important objective for Democrats, Sanders said on CNN, and “if Joe is the candidate, I’ll do everything I can to make sure he does.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Jesse Hamilton in Washington at jhamilton33@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jesse Westbrook at jwestbrook1@bloomberg.net, Ros Krasny, Magan Crane
©2020 Bloomberg L.P.