House members on the Congressional Progressive Caucus believe Sen. Bernie Sanders can stop Joe Biden from retaking the lead in the Democratic presidential primary despite the former vice president’s win in South Carolina and new endorsements.
After the Vermont senator cemented his front-runner status following a big win in the Nevada caucuses, Biden closed some of the gap between them with a victory in South Carolina’s Saturday primary. In the days since, the former vice president has gained several notable endorsements around Capitol Hill and from his former 2020 opponents. However, House progressives think Sanders can hold off the competition to secure the nomination.
“I’m very confident that Bernie is in a good place. Ultimately, it’s the voters that matter, and our movement is growing. I think we’re gonna have an outstanding Super Tuesday,” Rep. Ro Khanna, a California Democrat and co-chairman of the Progressive Caucus, told the Washington Examiner. “We’re gonna be in the lead after Super Tuesday. So our focus is on building our coalition. We’re not focused on what other candidates do or don’t do.”
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Fellow caucus member Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat, agreed, adding that voters in states with early voting options, such as California, had already cast their ballots long before Biden won South Carolina.
“I think sometimes folks get too stuck almost in an overly ideological frame. So to assume that all of the Buttigieg’s supporters would go to Biden or any other candidate is a strong assumption,” she told the Washington Examiner. “And it really comes down to what percentage that shift does. So I think it’s hard to tell right now what that means, especially with how many of these states have early voting.”
California Democrats moved up their primary date to Super Tuesday this election cycle in hopes of playing a larger role in choosing their presidential nominee. The 415 delegate-rich state can supply a candidate over one-fifth of the 1,991 delegates necessary to win the nomination.
While Sanders is the favorite in California and Texas in several polls listed by RealClearPolitics, Biden leads him in other Super Tuesday state polls, including Tennessee and Alabama.
