Sanders Announces He’s Staying In The Race, Despite Setbacks In Tuesday’s Contests Against Biden
Democratic candidate for president Bernie Sanders announced on Wednesday that he would not be dropping out of the race, despite a series of disappointing outcomes on Tuesday, as well as in Super Tuesday last week.
On Tuesday evening of this week, Sanders lost the primary states of Missouri, Michigan, Idaho, and Mississippi. He won in North Dakota, and as of the publication of this post, he’s just barely ahead of Democratic rival Joe Biden in Washington State, though not all of the precincts are yet counted there.
Sanders was resolute in his decision to keep running for the chance to face President Donald Trump in the general election this fall.
“On Sunday, I very much look forward to the debate in Arizona with my friend, Joe Biden,” he said.
Bernie Sanders is staying in the 2020 race after a series of losses, announcing that he looks forward to debating Joe Biden on Sunday https://t.co/WVA9kq2UOS pic.twitter.com/yxNLAI9k6I
— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) March 11, 2020
That debate will be the first to feature just two candidates on stage, Biden and Sanders. It will also take place in Phoenix, Arizona, without an audience included, to address concerns about the spread of coronavirus.
Sanders made clear that healthcare, among other issues, would be a priority for him in the debate, and that he’d directly challenge Biden to answer for his own opinions on the subject:
“Let me be very frank as to the questions I will be asking Joe. Joe, What are you going to do for the 500,000 people who go bankrupt in our country because of medically related debt? … What are you going to do to end the absurdity of the United States of America being the only country on earth where healthcare is not a human right? Are you really going to veto a Medicare for All bill if it is passed in Congress?”
The next set of contests take place this weekend, in Guam and Northern Mariana. On Tuesday, March 17, state contests in Arizona, Florida, Illinois, and Ohio will take place. According to NPR, Biden currently leads Sanders in the delegate count, 857 to 709.
Featured image credit: Gage Skidmore/Flickr