After “unsurprising” results, “Sanders momentum goes unchecked” into SuperTuesday
Reaction from Democracy for America’s Charles Chamberlain to tonight's results in South Carolina:
"South Carolina has long been an ideal state for Secretary Clinton and she deserves credit for the victory she secured this evening after pouring a great deal of time, energy, and resources into this primary.
"In a state-by-state battle for delegates, not every contest is going to be an upset and tonight wasn't one. As unsurprising as tonight's results are, they also remind us how much the rest of the 2016 race has changed since Bernie Sanders entered last May, down 50 points nationally against a seemingly unstoppable front-runner that campaign insiders claimed would be coronated simply by running against Washington gridlock.
"Here's the bottom line: Over nine months, the grassroots movement behind Bernie Sanders has turned him from a polling asterisk to a candidate with momentum that gave him a tie in Iowa, a 22-point win New Hampshire, a near miss in Nevada with entrance polls showing him winning the Latino vote by 7, and three polls in the past week showing him tied or winning nationally for the very first time.
"Given how anticipated tonight's results were, Sanders's momentum now goes unchecked into a series of contests into Super Tuesday and beyond, where he is poised to deliver some upsets, once again defy Washington's professional pundits, and continue to build the racially and ideologically diverse coalition the Democrats need to win in November." -- Charles Chamberlain, Executive Director, Democracy for America
Additional facts about Democracy for America and our support for Bernie Sanders in the 2016 race:
- In December, DFA endorsed Bernie Sanders for President after the Senator received 87.9% of the more than 271,000 votes cast in a DFA member endorsement vote. This was the first presidential-primary endorsement in DFA's 11-year history.
- Details about DFA's Bernie support
- DFA spoke out strongly for DNC fairness after the party shut off Sanders's access to the voter file.
- DFA worked to set the record straight when the Clinton campaign attacked Sanders on guns and single-payer healthcare.
- DFA has worked closely with the Sanders campaign and our grassroots members to mobilize and train the tens of thousands of volunteers needed to help Bernie win in early contests.
- DFA has over 1 million members across the country.
- Since its 2004 founding, DFA members have knocked on hundreds of thousands of doors, made over 11 million phone calls, and raised and contributed more than $32.7 million to help elect 843 progressive candidates nationwide.