Bernie Sanders Press Conference: Democrat Says He's Winning Ideological Debate For Heart Of Voters

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, a self-described Democratic socialist who built up a commanding lead in the first three primaries and caucuses, Wednesday doubled down on his quest for the Democratic presidential nomination despite decisive wins by former Vice President Joe Biden in primaries held in the last two weeks.

Biden cemented his Super Tuesday wins with at least the four wins Tuesday, opening his delegate lead over Sanders, 855 to 693. Polls give Biden double digit leads as high as 35% in the next set of Tuesday primaries – Florida, Illinois, Ohio and Arizona – as well as the contest in the Northern Marianas Saturday and Georgia March 24.

"Donald Trump must be defeated and I will do everything in my power to make that happen," Sanders told a news conference, saying he disagrees with those who say Biden is the best candidate to defeat the president.

Sanders said "a strong majority of the American people" support his progressive agenda, and the party needs to address the concerns of younger voters if it expects to prevail, not just the older voters to whom Biden appeals.

"Last night obviously was not a good night for our campaign from a delegate point of view," Sanders said, later adding, "Our campaign won the ideological debate [but] we are losing the debate over electability."

Sanders said he looks forward to Sunday's one-on-one debate against Biden and plans to grill him on core issues like healthcare and immigration.

Sanders, who based his campaign on universal healthcare, free college tuition and raising the minimum wage to $15, has a loyal following, many of whom have supported him since his 2016 run against Hillary Clinton. Sanders only half-heartedly backed his then-rival and the so-called Bernie Bros refused to support anyone except their candidate, dooming Clinton’s quest.

This time around, the message is party unity.

“Biden has now proven that he’s the one who is reassembling the Obama-Biden coalition. He is exciting and motivating exactly the same suburban voters who led us to take back the House in 2018,” Sen. Christopher A. Coons, D-Del., said Wednesday.

“If you look at Bernie’s results in these same states four years ago, and last night, although he is the candidate who keeps saying, ‘I can energize and bring out a new generation,’ that’s not what’s happening. What’s happening is Biden is bringing out and energizing new voters.”

“The sooner we can unify, the sooner we can focus on the present danger, which is Donald Trump,” Rep. Cedric L. Richmond, D-La., said.

In a memo, the Unite the Country super PAC said Tuesday’s primary made clear the battle for the nomination essentially is over.

“With last night’s wins, and states like Florida, Illinois and Ohio that will vote on March 17th, Joe Biden’s delegate lead over Bernie Sanders will be equal to, and possibly even higher than Hillary Clinton’s at the same stage of the election,” the memo said.

The super PAC said attention now should shift to the states that are going to decide the November election: Arizona, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Wisconsin, as well as Minnesota, New Hampshire, and Nevada.