On Wednesday, Sanders told the Times that he was letting go “hundreds” of staff members in states whose primaries and caucuses had already passed, streamlining his campaign to focus on California.
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The comments by Sanders comes as the Vermont senator’s path to the nomination has narrowed dramatically, after defeats in NY and in four of five states on Tuesday.
“We need to plant the flag of progressive politics in every state in this country”, he said at the outdoor rally.
“You can’t be for Wall Street and for the working people of this country”, Sanders said of Democrats.
The explicit promise to back Mrs. Clinton – who is now far ahead in the delegate race and has the nomination all but locked up – also indicates that Mr. Sanders isn’t holding a grudge over previous clashes with the Democratic Party.
John Sommers II/Getty Images Bernie Sanders is laying off hundreds of staffers, potentially indicating that his campaign may be winding down.
“The truth is republicans win elections when people are demoralized and give up, and voter turnout is low”, he said. “Keeps us sharp”, he said.
Sanders repeated campaign themes that align with the views of many OR progressives, such as correcting income inequality through higher taxes on the rich.
Though he is acknowledging the math leaves him an nearly insurmountable challenge, “I am very good in arithmetic and I can count delegates and we are behind today”.
“Well I think it’s a question of idealism. We’re down to the last ten, we don’t need staff in Connecticut, Delaware, or New York State anymore, we’re going to focus our resources in the remaining ten states”, he said.
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In a speech in Springfield, Oregon, Sanders called out his party for its lack of a “50-state strategy” and failing to present a coherent message regarding “which side they are on”. But in other events Sanders has largely steered clear of Clinton, focusing instead on Trump. The spokesman said the layoffs were partially due to the fact that there are just 14 states remaining on the primary calendar, which means the campaign does not require as many field operatives on the payroll. Hillary Clinton is 90 percent of the way to the delegates needed for the nomination.
