begin quote from:
Bernie Sanders Claims Momentum After Three State Victories
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Fresh from Democratic presidential primary wins over the weekend in three U.S. …
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Fresh from Democratic presidential primary
wins over the weekend in three U.S. states, Bernie Sanders on Sunday
claimed political momentum he said could help him win the backing of
Democratic power brokers in his race against Hillary Clinton.
Sanders easily won nominating contests in Alaska, Washington and
Hawaii on Saturday. His latest remarks reflect his plan to chip away at
Clinton’s commanding lead in the number of delegates needed to win the
party’s nomination.
Interviewed on Sunday by U.S. broadcasters, Sanders said Democratic
“super-delegates,” who can change their allegiance, might rally behind
him because some polls suggest he has a better chance than Clinton of
beating a Republican candidate.
“Momentum is with us. A lot of these super-delegates may rethink
their position with Hillary Clinton,” said Vermont Senator Sanders on
CNN’S State of the Union news program.
About 85 percent of the votes at the July 25-28 Democratic National
Convention in Philadelphia, where a party nominee will be chosen to face
the Republicans in the Nov. 8 election, are being determined by state
nominating contests.
The other 15 percent is held by party power brokers who are free to
vote as they like, meaning they could hold the key in a tight contest.
Super-delegates include party leaders and elected senators, members of
the U.S. Congress, and governors.
After Saturday’s contests, the former secretary of state led Sanders
by just under 300 pledged delegates in the race for the 2,382 needed to
be nominated. Adding in the support of super-delegates, Clinton had
1,712 delegates to 1,004 for Sanders, according to a tally by RealClearPolitics.com.
The U.S. senator from Vermont needs to win up to two-thirds of the
remaining delegates to catch Clinton, who will keep piling up delegates
even when she loses under a Democratic Party system that awards them
proportionally in all states.
He urged super-delegates to consider polls in which Americans are
presented with potential battles between various presidential hopefuls.
RealClearPolitics averages of polls show Sanders with a small edge over
Clinton in a hypothetical contest against Republican front-runner Donald
Trump.
Sanders said party leaders in states where he has won decisively will
come under pressure to back him whether they have pledged to support
Clinton or not. “The super-delegates are going to have to make a very
difficult decision,” Sanders said on ABC’s This Week With George
Stephanopoulos.
The Democratic party adopted the super-delegate system in the early
1980s to give party leaders more control over the nominating process.
(Additional reporting by Toni Clarke; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Alan Crosby)
Bernie Sanders Attacks The Media
9
No comments:
Post a Comment