What Will ‘May’ Bring For Bernie Sanders? [Report]

Though many have claimed that the Democratic primary is already over and Sanders sticking till the end is merely a formality, the recent turn of events going on suggests that Bernie will surely give Clinton a run for her money.

There are only few delegates left to fight for, and Hillary Clinton is in her own league for the delegate count at the moment and has reportedly started planning for the general election against Donald Trump. But this month of May is turning out to be crucial month in Sanders’ campaign.

Clinton emerged victorious in Saturday’s caucus in Guam, capturing 59.5 percent of the vote to Bernie Sanders’ 40.1 percent, according to official party results. Clinton won 777 votes to Bernie’s 528.

The former Secretary of State, who still holds a massive lead to the Vermont senator’s delegate number, earned four pledged delegates, while Sanders gained three.

But Sanders’ campaign should not be too worried at the moment, as Sanders won the West Virginia primary with 51.4 percent of votes, while Clinton only managed 36 percent of votes. Sanders was able to reduce the delegate lead by five as he won 16 delegates compared to Clinton’s 11.

The results mean not only he can prolong the race with Hillary, but also he can increase his chances of nomination as a third-wheel candidate.

Though the outcomes will be more determined by demographics than momentum, and these results do little to cut his gap and dethrone Hillary, who appears to be securely heading towards the nomination, Sanders will certainly be eager to notch more wins to build up his bargaining position as much as possible before the Democratic National Convention this July in Philadelphia, where he hopes influence the party’s platform, MSNBC reported.

After winning West Virginia, Sanders is looking forward to Oregon, where is he is likely to demolish Hillary Clinton. According to The Inqusitr, with 61 delegates and 13 superdelegates on the table, the Oregon primary will have some of the most closely watched polls of the remaining Democratic primary races.

After Oregon, Sanders will have set Kentucky in his mind, where he is a favored candidate, as the state has a mostly white electorate, making it a happy hunting ground for Sanders.

Sanders also has a bigger advantage in mountain states. These states have an overwhelming majority of white voters. This statement hugely contrasts the fact that Hillary won these states from Obama with 40 percent victory margin. This also signals the popularity of Sanders among white voters. If Sanders wins the primary in North Dakota, as he is widely expected to, then he will have captured nine out of 10 so-called white states.

These victories, however, are not guaranteed to represent the progress of Sander’s campaign. Voxreported that Hillary is the darling of establishment Democrats, and Sanders simply lacks the support among African-Americans, Latinos, and older Democratic Party loyalists to beat her, and white liberals are not quite as influential as they used to be.

Both the upcoming primaries hold a great strategic key for both candidates. The momentum Sander’s campaign is getting past few weeks, it looks like he will topple Clinton in the state voting. Looking superficially, these victories may be too little too late for Sanders, but he can certainly drag his opponent by making her spend money and time in states that will matter less in general elections.

As it stands, Clinton has managed 1,613 delegates to Sanders’ 1,430. The superdelegate count is a landslide victory for Clinton. She has 523 pledged delegates, compared to 39 of Sanders.

Howard Dean has a few words on what Bernie Sanders may do next https://t.co/QrwqGcfK1k pic.twitter.com/5sNz8fABmh

— The Economist (@TheEconomist) May 9, 2016

These events are just small tides before a big storm in Californian primary. If Sanders does well in California primary as the polls suggest, he can still pose a threat to Clinton as the state alone has 475 pledged delegates. But California is also one of the most expensive states to run a campaign in and surely the one Clinton would like to avoid, according to MSNBC.

[Photo by Jacquelyn Martin/AP]