Ryan Ray
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders was unable to come up with a sequel to his “Michigan miracle” last week, dropping the key state of Ohio and a majority of delegates Tuesday night to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
After losing in Ohio and Florida and with results in Illinois and Missouri still in doubt, Sanders spoke to a boisterous crowd in Phoenix, Arizona, where he attempted to rally the troops and keep his self-styled political “revolution” rolling despite newly longer odds.
“Don’t settle for the status quo when the status quo is broken,” said Sanders, who sounded newly emboldened after taking a potentially mortal electoral wound.
Sanders, by and large, gave a variation of his familiar stump speech about a broken campaign finance system, European-style universal health care, and raising the minimum wage. He drew contrasts between himself and Clinton, and as usual stridently attacked Donald Trump, saying he is supported to a significant degree by racists and bigots.
Not visibly downtrodden by what supporters hoped would be a three-state sweep of the Midwest on Tuesday, he predicted a win in Arizona next week. California and Hawaii also present favorable opportunities for the septuagenarian independent lawmaker.
Sanders now faces long odds if he is to defeat Clinton for the Democratic nomination. Analysts report he would need to capture about 70 percent of the remaining delegates to win.
