Bernie Sanders: 'You're Going to See Us Doing Better and Better'

Bernie Sanders supporters at a campaign rally Tuesday in Phoenix, Ariz. (Photo: Gage Skidmore/flickr/cc)

Bernie Sanders: 'You're Going to See Us Doing Better and Better'

Voters will appreciate that 'Sanders does better against Donald Trump than Hillary Clinton,' senator says

White House hopeful Bernie Sanders said Sunday that his campaign is on track to do "better and better" as the presidential primaries continue, and again pointed to polls showing that he is the Democratic candidate that is able to trounce Republican front-runner Donald Trump.

Speaking to CBS' Face the Nation from the campaign trail in Tucson, Ariz., Sanders said, "The states that are coming up just on Tuesday, we've got Idaho, we got Utah, we got Arizona, we're heading out West . . . we're then heading to New York--we think that the path forward is a pretty good path for us."

Responding to host John Dickerson's point that his rival swept last week's contests, Sanders said, "Clearly Secretary Clinton did very very well in the Deep South. Not a strong area for us. But I think as we go forward, you're going to see us doing better and better."

"I think people are also going to appreciate when they look at the polls that Bernie Sanders does better against Donald Trump than Hillary Clinton does," Sanders added. "In fact, in the last NBC poll, we were 18 points head of Donald Trump--far more so than Sec. Clinton."

Dickerson pointed out that Clinton won Ohio and Illinois--states not part of Deep South, to which Sanders argued, "She did, and we won in Michigan. At the end of the day, if you look at Michigan, if you look at Illinois, if you look at Missouri, we come out almost the same in terms of delegates."

Sanders later said that Clinton "creamed us" in Deep South, but added, "Now I wish I didn't have to say this, but everything being equal no Democrat right now--I hope that changes, and I think it will--is going to win [...] those states in the general election."

"We have now won nine states," he continued. "I think in a couple of weeks you're going to see us win more states," Sanders said, and stressed that they are ones in his campaign's favor.

"I think as we head to the West Coast, which is probably the most progressive part of America [...] I think the people in those states really are not going to be voting for establishment politics and establishment economics. They want real change. I think we're going to do well there."

Sharpening the contrast between the two campaigns, he said, "If you are a Sec. Clinton and you're taking many millions of dollars through your super PAC from Wall Street, from the drug companies, from the fossil fuel industry, are you really going to be the agent of change in taking on the billionaire class, taking on Wall Street, taking on the big money interests which we need, in my view, right now."

The optimism Sanders expressed in the Face the Nation echoes that from his remarks last last week: "With more than half the delegates yet to be chosen and a calendar that favors us in the weeks and months to come, we remain confident that our campaign is on a path to win the nomination."

Join Us: News for people demanding a better world


Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place.

We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference.

Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. Join with us today!

Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.