Bernie Sanders seeks support from superdelegates
US presidential candidate Bernie Sanders says his overwhelming victory in the Saturday caucuses can help him win the support of elected Democratic Party officials over frontrunner Hillary Clinton.
Sanders was speaking after winning the Western states of Washington, Alaska, and Hawaii by wide margins.
"I think the momentum is with us," Sanders said on CNN's "State of the Union" with Jake Tapper on Sunday. "A lot of these superdelegates may rethink their positions with Secretary Clinton."
The US Senator from Vermont is convinced he has the support needed to persuade senior party members, or so-called superdelegates, to back his campaign against Clinton in the fight for the Democratic nomination.
Sanders backers have expressed dissatisfaction with the less-than-democratic super delegate system, in which top elected Democrats and party officials are automatic delegates to the Democratic National Convention.
Unlike regular delegates, the superdelegates are unpledged, meaning they are free to back whichever candidate they want, regardless of their state’s caucus or primary results. Those superdelegates nationally have favored Clinton by a huge margin.
Republicans, by contrast, have no superdelegate system.
“To be able to have these delegates that have no accountability to the Democratic Party members seems to me to be a tad undemocratic,” said Charlie Best, who works for the King County Labor Council in Washington state.
Sanders’ supporters are demanding Washington’s 17 superdelegates fall in line and support Sanders. A petition circulated on MoveOn.org demands those delegates “follow the lead of average Democratic party voters and uphold authentic democracy.”
On Sunday, Sanders said he sees a 'path toward victory' after scoring the Saturday’s victories.
But despite those impressive wins, Sanders still trails Clinton significantly in the delegate count, largely because of her lead among superdelegates.
Sanders believes his recent string of victories shows he can not only win the Democratic nomination, but also succeed in the general presidential election, including against Republican Party frontrunner Donald Trump.
According to a CNN/ORC survey last week, Sanders has a 20-point lead over in a head-to-head contest against Trump. Clinton held a 12-point lead over Trump in the same survey.
Sanders, 74, is a leading proponent of issues such as income inequality, universal healthcare, parental leave, climate change, and campaign finance reform.
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