Sanders camp argues they “didn’t compete” in eight states they lost…but Sanders spent money, time in several of those states
Washington, D.C.–Today, the Bernie Sanders campaign hosted a call for reporters on the “path forward.” Incredibly, Sanders senior adviser Tad Devine said “almost all” of Hillary Clinton’s delegate lead came from eight states where Bernie Sanders “did not compete.”
Reporters didn’t buy it:
Edward-Isaac Dovere @IsaacDovere: Sanders campaign press call just now, in sum: Everything would be fine with the primary race if most things were different. [3/28/16, 1:39 p.m. EDT]
Abby D. Phillip @abbydphillip: Devine says they didn’t compete in TX, AL , VA, LA, TN, MS. Spent money in GA, AR. Hard to see a clear definition of “not competing” here [3/28/16, 1:36 p.m. EDT]
Rick Klein @rickklein: Tad Devine says Sanders campaign chose not to compete in TX, AL, VA, LA, TN, MS, GA, AR. [3/28/16, 1:34 p.m. EDT]
Jennifer Epstein @jeneps: Pretty sure he competed in Florida and Texas. And that’s where she got 143 of her 230 delegate edge. [3/28/16, 1:18 p.m. EDT]
daveweigel @daveweigel: I mean Bernie team saying it “didn’t contest” the places where Hillary won landslides is some New 52-level retconning. [3/28/16, 1:31 p.m. EDT]
Josh Dorner @JoshDorner: Didn’t contest? More like “couldn’t win.” [3/28/16, 1:19 p.m. EDT]
Jamil Smith @JamilSmith: That is provably false. [3/28/16, 1:19 p.m. EDT]
Rick Klein @rickklein: Sanders campaign arguing they have a chance of winning all states where they “compete.” But there’s a reason they didn’t compete everywhere. [3/28/16, 1:21 p.m. EDT]
Henry J. Gomez @HenryJGomez: I imagined all those Sanders rallies in Ohio? [3/28/16, 1:28 p.m. EDT]
Gabriel Debenedetti @gdebenedetti: Devine says VA is one of the states where Sanders didn’t compete. But they said they wanted a tight result there until just days before. [3/28/16, 1:34 p.m. EDT]
Lisa Lerer @llerer: I believe he contested Florida. And Ohio. And SC. [3/28/16, 1:27 p.m. EDT]
Philip Bump @pbump: “I didn’t want to win anyway” is an argument that everyone learned how to deal with in elementary school. [3/28/16, 1:25 p.m. EDT]
Sam Frizell @Sam_Frizell: But: Sanders did run ads in states like Florida, and visited states like Texas and Georgia, where Clinton won by large margins. [3/28/16, 1:23 p.m. EDT]
Simon Maloy @SimonMaloy: “not trying” actively screws you over in a proportional delegate allocation system [3/28/16, 1:39 p.m. EDT]
Philip Bump @pbump: Odds that Sanders’s team is hoping to use press as validators for an iffy argument to keep hope alive w/ supporters? [3/28/16, 1:23 p.m. EDT]
Alex Seitz-Wald @aseitzwald: Almost all of [sports championship winner]’s victories came from games in which [sports championship losing team] did not compete. [3/28/16, 1:20 p.m. EDT]
Andrea Bernstein @AndreaWNYC: The Bernie campaign just had a big press call without taking a single call from reporters based in NY or WI, the next two primaries. [3/28/16, 1:45 p.m. EDT]
Gabriel Debenedetti @gdebenedetti: Sanders’ strategists now saying most of Clinton’s lead comes from states where Sanders didn’t play. (FL/TX/GA) But he *did* spend time there [3/28/16, 1:20 p.m. EDT]
Sahil Kapur [email protected] : Even if Bernie didn’t try with southern/Af-Am voters (he did), not sure it’s a knock on HRC. Big part of the base. [3/28/16, 1:44 p.m. EDT]
Simon Maloy @SimonMaloy: I’m just not sure what’s to be gained from “our opponent is winning only because we chose not to contest delegate-rich states” as a message [3/28/16, 1:30 p.m. EDT]