Reeling from an unanticipated loss in the Michigan primary, Hillary Clinton will take the debate stage with Bernie Sanders in Miami Wednesday night hoping to prove she still has momentum.
Clinton lost the Michigan primary to the Sanders by a very small margin, 49.8-48.3 percent, but considering she was leading the Vermont senator in the polls by 10-20 points before voting began, the loss rattled the former secretary of state’s campaign.
Campaign manager Robby Mook assured reporters on Wednesday that despite the fact that Clinton lost Michigan, the campaign was not losing momentum, as proven by their rising delegate count. On Tuesday night Clinton also won Mississippi primary, blowing Sanders out of the water 82.6-16.5 percent.
While this added to Clinton’s delegate lead, it also furthered the Sanders campaign’s claim that Clinton is a “regional candidate” who can only perform in the South.
Clinton’s team says they are prepared for next week.
“Following his win in Michigan all signs point to Senator Sanders competing especially hard in the three Midwestern states that are on March 15th: Ohio, Illinois and Missouri. And it is true that the demographics of those states are similar Michigan,” Mook warned reporters on a call Tuesday. “So whatever the public polling is saying right now, it was very inaccurate last night so we would all be well advised to treat the public polling that’s coming out today and throughout this week with skepticism.”
Even as the campaign faces trouble in the Midwest, they remain confident that the loss in Michigan won’t ultimatey hurt her chances to win the nomination. Not including her hundreds of super delegates, Clinton leads Sanders 760-546 in pledged delegates.
“Wins like the one Sanders earned last night in Michigan will not be enough for him to truly compete for the nomination,” Mook explained. “We feel we’re nearing the point where our delegate lead will effectively become insurmountable.”
This will be the third time the Democratic candidates’ met in a public forum this week alone, as they met on the debate stage in Flint, Mich., on Sunday and met for a Fox News townhall in Detroit on Monday. Unlike the other two events, the Miami debate was one of the few gatherings that originally appeared on the Democratic National Committee’s schedule before the candidates and voters called for more public events.
