Sanders to ‘assess his campaign’ after Tuesday losses

Sen. Bernie Sanders’s (I-Vt.) presidential campaign manager on Wednesday said that Sanders would take time in the coming weeks to assess his campaign after a slew of primary wins for former Vice President Joe Biden.

“The next primary contest is three weeks away,” Sanders’s campaign manager, Faiz Shakir, said in a statement. “Sen. Sanders is going to be having conversations with his supporters to assess his campaign.” 

“In the immediate term, however, he is focused on the government response to the coronavirus outbreak and ensuring that we take care of working people and the most vulnerable.” 

The statement comes hours after Biden won sweeping victories in the Arizona, Florida and Illinois Democratic primaries on Tuesday. Biden won Florida by nearly 40 points and took Illinois by more than 20 points. 

Biden won Arizona with roughly 43 percent of the vote, while Sanders garnered more than 31 percent of the vote. 

On Super Tuesday earlier this month, Biden took the lead in the race by winning 10 of 14 contests.

The wins ensure that Biden will have a nearly insurmountable lead in delegates by the time all of the votes are counted from the latest nominating contests.

Biden currently has over 1,100 delegates, while Sanders has just more than 800 delegates. 

Forty percent of the delegates in the race have yet to be allocated. Candidates must garner at least 1,991 to officially clinch the nomination. 

A number of primaries have been delayed due to the coronavirus outbreak. The Ohio primary, which was scheduled for Tuesday, was delayed due to the virus. Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland and Puerto Rico have also delayed their primaries.