Bernie Sanders Expected To Formally Endorse Hillary Clinton Next Week

The Huffington Post is reporting that Sen. Bernie Sanders is widely expected to formally endorse presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton at a campaign rally to be held in New Hampshire next Tuesday.

The endorsement could help allay concerns of party unity among Democrats ahead of the nominating convention to be held later this month in Philadelphia.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Sanders sounded resolute in his support for Clinton saying, “We have got to do everything that we can to defeat Donald Trump and elect Hillary Clinton. I don’t honestly know how we would survive four years of a Donald Trump [as president].”

Associated Press Responds To Criticism Over Declaring Hillary Clinton Dem Nominee Before Final Primaries

After the Sanders campaign criticized the Associated Press for determining Hillary Clinton to have accrued the requisite number of delegates to clinch the Democratic nomination for president, Senior Vice President and Executive Editor Kathleen Carroll issued this statement.

AP concluded that Hillary Clinton had enough delegates to clinch the nomination after a painstaking but very straightforward exercise.

We counted.

By Monday evening, 571 superdelegates had told us unequivocally that they intend to vote for Clinton at the convention. Adding that number to the delegates awarded to Clinton in primary and caucus voting to date gave her the number needed to be the presumptive nominee.

That is news, and reporting the news is what we do.

Nothing in that discourages or prevents voters in six states from exercising their right to go to the polls today and cast their ballots.

It should be noted that John Kerry was declared the Democratic nominee on March 10, 2004, based on AP superdelegate tally.

Primaries/caucuses after that date: KS, IL, AK, CO, PA, IN, NE, WV, AR, KY, OR, AL, SD, MT, and NJ.

BREAKING: AP Declares Hillary Clinton The Democratic Presidential Nominee

BREAKING: @AP finds Clinton reached the number of delegates needed to clinch the Democratic nomination for president.

From the AP:

An Associated Press count of pledged delegates won in primaries and caucuses and a survey of party insiders known as superdelegates shows Clinton with the overall support of the required 2,383 delegates. Now the presumptive nominee, she will formally accept her party's nomination in July at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.

Further, U.S. Political Editor David Scott for the Associated Press , explains why Hillary Clinton is now being identified by AP as the “presumptive nominee” of the Democratic Party:

It takes 2,383 delegates to win the nomination of the Democratic Party, and our count finds that Hillary Clinton has reached that number. Most are pledged delegates won in a primary or caucus. Some are superdelegates, who have unequivocally told AP they will vote for her next month at the party’s convention.

Clinton is now the “presumptive nominee,” because according to our count, she now has enough delegates backing her candidacy to win the nomination.

AP will not call her the “nominee” until she reaches that milestone in Philadelphia next month, when the party’s delegates formally cast their vote at the convention.

See AP’s delegate tracker: https://interactives.ap.org/2016/delegate-tracker/

Clinton took to Twitter to say "thanks" but also urged Dems to vote in the final Super Tuesday contests:

We’re flattered, @AP, but we've got primaries to win. CA, MT, NM, ND, NJ, SD, vote tomorrow! https://t.co/8t3GpZqc1U

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) June 7, 2016

The Sanders' campaign issued this statement:

“It is unfortunate that the media, in a rush to judgement, are ignoring the Democratic National Committee’s clear statement that it is wrong to count the votes of superdelegates before they actually vote at the convention this summer,” spokesman Michael Briggs said Monday night.

“Secretary Clinton does not have and will not have the requisite number of pledged delegates to secure the nomination. She will be dependent on superdelegates who do not vote until July 25 and who can change their minds between now and then. They include more than 400 superdelegates who endorsed Secretary Clinton 10 months before the first caucuses and primaries and long before any other candidate was in the race.

Sen. Bernie Sanders Sidesteps Question Whether He Would Consider VP Spot

Sen. Bernie Sanders talks to Meet The Press host Chuck Todd about his path to the Democratic nomination, and whether he would consider being Hillary Clinton's running-mate if she were to ask.

“I’m knocking my brains out to win the Democratic nomination,” Sanders said. “That’s where I am right now. What happens afterwards, we will see. But right now, my focus is on winning the nomination.”

Folks are calling that a "side-step," but in truth, what other answer could he really give at this point?

What If We Abolished The Practice Of SuperDelegates?

Depending on the day, I can't tell if Sen. Bernie Sanders doesn't like the concept of Superdelegates or if he does.

Throughout the campaign he and his surrogates complained how having Superdelegates "rigs" the system. He did this mainly because he didn't have many, and Hillary Clinton did.

He called for abolishing the idea.

NOW, however, his only possible path to the Democratic nomination is to somehow convince those  Superdelegates that have declared their support for front-runner Hillary Clinton to switch their allegiance to him.

Because folks always jump off the winning team?

The fact is, even if we didn't have Superdelegates, Hillary would still be ahead of Bernie by 250-300 delegates depending on how you changed the rules.

The system isn't "rigged" in Hillary's favor. Sanders knew and competed with the same rules she did.

She just showed more class when faced with the inevitable math in 2008 when she found herself in a similar situation running against then-Senator Obama.

I hope, once we get past June 7th, Sanders doesn't choose to drag the drama out all the way to the Democratic convention. It will only hurt the party and help Donald Trump.

Hillary Clinton "Apparent Winner" In Kentucky Primary

Daily Kos: Bernie Sanders Isn't "Winning" Dem Primary Season With 43% Of Popular Vote

Sen. Bernie Sanders (L) and Hillary Clinton (R)

Daily Kos ran this yesterday, and I think it speaks a lot to the animus some Bernie Sanders about the primary process so far.

According to Real Clear Politics there have been 21, 951, 362 votes cast in the 2016 Democratic primaries and caucuses. Of those votes Sen. Sanders is getting 43% of them while Clinton is getting 57% of them. Folks that is definitely not winning. In fact it is losing in a landslide. In 2008, for example, Clinton got around 47.8% of the vote while Obama got around 48.1% of the vote. For all of the talk about how Sanders is energizing the Democratic Party a significant majority of voters have not responded to his message.

Yet despite her lead in the popular vote there are many Sanders supporters who act as if her lead in delegates is somehow illegitimate. That somehow Sanders is being deprived of a victory by the way the rules are being applied.

Look Clinton’s lead in delegates is actually less than her lead in the popular vote. Right now she leads in delegates who are pledged to one candidate or the other, 1716 to 1433. This delegate count does not include super delegates. This means that Sanders is getting 46% of the delegates while only getting 43% of the vote. Clinton is getting only 54% of the delegates selected while she is receiving 57% of the vote. If anyone has a complaint with how delegates are being selected it is Clinton not Sanders.

Indeed it seems to be the position of the Sanders campaign that it doesn’t matter how big Clinton’s lead is in terms of the popular vote Sanders should still get the nomination. Why? Why should a political party nominate a person who is not winning the majority of the votes cast by that party’s primary and caucus voters?

The fact of the matter is that Sanders is losing the popular vote in the 2016 Democratic primaries and caucuses and unless that changes he should not be the Democratic Party’s nominee. On the other hand if he can overcome Clinton’s lead in the popular vote then he should be the Party’s nominee.

It's also worth noting that while Sanders supporters are up in arms about "closed primaries" being unfair somehow, the fact is there have been 19 primaries open to independents, but Sanders only won 6 - two of which were his home stage of Vermont and New Hampshire. So, I'm not sure that "closed" primaries have been his biggest hurdle thus far.

Most importantly, I think folks should remember Clinton and Sanders are on the same side when it comes to the big picture.

Bernie Sanders Supporter George Takei Calls For Democrats To Unite Behind Hillary Clinton

TV icon and political activist George Takei posted a video to his Facebook page yesterday calling for all Democrats to unite behind Hillary Clinton as the presumptive presidential nominee after her huge primary wins on Tuesday night.

As a Bernie Sanders supporter, Takei points to the obvious delegate math saying Hillary Clinton will most likely be the nominee and we should all take a pledge to #VoteBlueNoMatterWho.

From Raw Story:

“Ultimately, we Democrats know that a bit of a tussle isn’t a bad thing — it makes us stronger. Keeps us sharp,” he said. “And really, it’s like a family squabble, where only family — those very close to us — can truly get under our skin. But remember this, too: it’s precisely because we like and respect each other that the words and criticisms sting as much as they do.”

In the video, he noted that both candidates agree on issues like womens’ reproductive health, LGBT rights advocacy, separation of church and state and supporting the Affordable Care Act. He also recalled Sanders’ statement last November that if Clinton won the general election, she would be “an infinitely better candidate and President than the Republican candidate on his best day.”

“If Bernie believes that, his supporters can, too,” Takei said.

One fan suggested Takei for veep, but he declined saying such duties wouldn't leave him "as much time for cat memes."

Bernie Sanders: Super-Delegates Will Start Moving To Me And That's How I'll Win Dem Nomination

Sen. Bernie Sanders

Some politically-minded folks have begun asking if/when Sen. Bernie Sanders might consider ending his run for the Democratic presidential nomination in light of Hillary Clinton's increasing lead in the delegate count.

While some call for Sanders to drop out now, there's really no reason for him to do so; he has plenty of money, and as long as he's in the race he has a voice.

But the Sanders team also has another gambit: super-delegates are going to start peeling off Clinton (the front-runner) and move to his column.

From The Hill:

Sanders currently trails Clinton in pledged delegates, 1,428 to 1,151. The count increases to 1930 to 1,189 when including unbound superdelegates. The former secretary of State needs just 435 more delegates to secure the nomination before the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia at the end of July.

Part of the reason why the Sanders campaign believes it’s still viable is his team says many of Clinton’s unbound superdelegates are getting ready to jump ship and throw their support behind the Vermont senator. Mook shot down that claim on Wednesday, saying it’s unrealistic.

I'm not sure what the logic is behind this "path to the nomination."

Why would Democratic leaders in the party move away from the person with the most pledged delegates AND the highest popular vote count to move to the #2 guy?

Plus, don't forget that just a month or so ago Sanders' supporters bemoaned the idea of super-delegates saying the idea of them is unprincipled. Now he's going to try and win based on super-delegates overturning the will of the popular vote?

Maybe I'm a little slow here, but I don't see why anyone would do that.

HIllary Clinton Wins Nevada Democratic Caucus

BREAKING: CNN projects @HillaryClinton will win the #NVDemsCaucus https://t.co/SzIjJeibRG https://t.co/ShnBfmlg9C pic.twitter.com/Ar8sZxx2ES

— CNN (@CNN) February 20, 2016

The feeling is mutual, Nevada. pic.twitter.com/Z32JkpNKAp

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) February 20, 2016

Bernie Sanders Gets Lots Of Assist From DNC But Doesn't Return The Favor

Interesting essay over on Huffington Post about Sen. Bernie Sanders and his decision to run specifically on the Democratic ticket.

As the campaign progresses it is becoming clear he doesn't have any interest in meeting what his responsibility would be as the Democratic nominee. In a presidential election year a big part of the nominees job is to help elect candidates down ticket; U.S. Senate, House of Representatives, Governors and state legislators. He would need to help them raise money and build a platform on which they can run. Appears he is so taken with his own rhetoric of 'revolution' he hasn't thought about those down ticket candidates winning giving it even a chance in hell of happening.

As of today Hillary Clinton has raised twenty-seven million dollars to be distributed to state parties to assist their candidates and Sanders has raised one thousand dollars. The FEC is now questioning his campaign finances.

Sanders could have run as an independent as he has for his U.S. Senate seat, but instead he chose to sign up as Dem to get the financial resources. And yet, he hasn't returned the favor to the DNC.

New Polling Indicates Tied Race Between Hillary Clinton And Bernie Sanders In Nevada

After a dearth of polling in Nevada,  a new poll taken of Democratic Nevada caucus-goers shows Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders in a tight race - 45%-45% - ahead of the February 20th caucuses.

However, it should be noted the survey was paid for by the very conservative Free Beacon; and some of the questions were clearly framed as "anti-Hillary" in nature, such a:

• Recently several news organizations have reported that the FBI could indict Hillary Clinton over her handling of her email server. How concerned are you that she could actually face such an indictment?

• Hillary Clinton supported the Wall Street bailout and big banks have given her over $1.6 million dollars in campaign contributions and speaking fees. Does this make you more or less likely to support her?

You see where this is going, right? So, I'd take the results with a grain of salt.

The poll was conducted by TargetPoint of 1,236 potential Nevada caucusgoers from Feb. 8-10, with a margin of error just under 3 percent.

See the results of the poll below.

nv-toplines.pdf

(h/t Ralston Reports)

MSNBC/Telemundo Will Host Nevada Townhall With Clinton, Sanders February 18th

From Nevada political reporter Jon Ralston:

MSNBC and Telemundo will co-host a town hall with Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders in Las Vegas on Feb. 18, two days before Nevada Democrats hold presidential caucuses, I've confirmed.

The state party will partner with the networks on the event that is sure to draw distinctions on key Nevada issues and those important to Latinos.

Hispanic turnout was 14 percent in the 2008 Nevada caucuses, according to exit polls.

ICYMI: Last Night's Democratic Debate (Full)

In case you missed it, here's last night's Democratic debate.

As you click play on the video in the upper left corner you can skip directly to the beginning of the actual debate.

New Poll: Hillary Clinton Leads Democratic Race By 25 Points

According to the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton leads rival Bernie Sanders by 25 points nationally ahead of Sunday's final Democratic debate.

Clinton currently has the support of 59 percent of Democratic primary voters, while Sanders gets 34 percent. Martin O'Malley gets 2 percent.

With the Iowa caucus's just around the corner, Clinton leads Sanders in recent polling by an average of 4 points, according to RealClearPolitics.

The Democratic debate will air tonight on NBC at 9:00 pm ET.

New Poll Shows Hillary Clinton With 33 Point Lead For Democratic Nomination

A new poll of registered Democrats released today shows former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with a commanding 33 point lead over rival Sen. Bernie Sanders.

A Monmouth University survey released Wednesday found Clinton with a 33-point lead, taking 59 percent support nationally over Sanders at 26 percent. Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley takes 4 percent support in the poll.

Those results are essentially unchanged from the same poll in October, which found Clinton leading 57–24 in the race for the Democratic nomination.

“Clinton successfully ran the gauntlet this fall, appearing before the Benghazi Committee and outlasting the specter of a Biden candidacy,” said Monmouth pollster Patrick Murray. “She really hasn’t lost ground since then.”

On a state by state basis, Clinton leads Sanders by double digits in Iowa, the first in the nation contest to be held February 1st.

Sanders, however, looks to have a 5 point lead in New Hampshire.

Clinton has maintained a steady double-digit lead in Iowa, raising the stakes for Sanders in New Hampshire. The Vermont senator holds a 5-point lead in the Granite State, according to the RealClearPolitics average of polls.

Poll: Hillary Clinton Increases Lead Over Sen. Bernie Sanders For Democratic Nomination

The latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll shows former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton increasing her lead to the tune of 2-1 over Democratic rival Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Via MSNBC:

In the new poll, conducted Oct. 25-29, 62% of Democrats chose Clinton as their top choice to win their party’s presidential nomination, while 31% picked Sanders. Former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley received just 3% support.

That’s up from Clinton’s 25-point lead earlier in October, 58% to 33%.

Eighty-four percent of Dems see Clinton as the eventual nominee; only 12% expect Sanders to secure the nomination

Sen. Bernie Sanders Launches First TV Ad

Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont has begun airing his first TV campaign ad of the election cycle, titled "Real Change."

As part of an ad buy of over $2 million, the spot will run in Iowa and New Hampshire.

“Thousands of Americans have come out to see Bernie speak and we’ve seen a great response to his message,” Jeff Weaver, the campaign manager, told The Hill. “This ad marks the next phase of this campaign. We’re bringing that message directly to the voters of Iowa and New Hampshire.”

Bad Lip Reading: First Democratic Debate

The folks at Bad Lip Reading give the recent Democratic debate the lip-dub treatment.

If you didn't know better, you'd swear it was exactly what they said.

Only much funnier.

Hillary Clinton Jumps Six Points In National Poll After Debate

According to results of the latest Monmouth University national poll released, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton improved her standing among registered voters by six points after the first Democratic debate.

Clinton: 48% (up from 42% last month)
Sanders: 21% (up from 20% last month)
Biden: 17% (down from 22% last month)
Webb: 1%
O'Malley: less than 1%
Chaffee: less than 1%

57% of Biden supporters say they would throw their vote to Clinton if Biden doesn't run.

24% of Biden's supporters would switch to Sanders.

If Biden were to enter the race, Clinton would still lead by double-digits, Sanders could drop to the #3 spot:

Clinton: 42%
Biden: 27%
Sanders: 20%

“The specter of a Biden candidacy still hangs over this race, but Clinton can take comfort that she has appeared to win back some support with a solid debate performance,” said Patrick Murray, the director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute.

The Monmouth University poll of 340 registered voters was conducted between Oct. 15 and Oct. 18 and has a 5.3 percentage point margin of error.