While the polls may show Senator Bernie Sanders is losing in the Golden State, he does have some good news to keep his spirits up. It is his supporters, not Secretary Clinton’s, that have completed more applications to represent the state as delegates at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. This may not sound like much, but it does mean that Sanders has more support in the state than the polls let on.
The California Democratic Primary isn’t until June 7, giving Sanders plenty of time to loosen Clinton’s lead. California has a total of 546 delegates. The state Democratic Party has received over 4,600 applications for 317 delegate spots on the district level, and 30 people will also be chosen as alternates.
The state has 70 superdelegates that are free to support whoever they wish. The remaining delegates in the state are comprised of at-large delegates, party leaders, and elected officials.
After his big win in Wisconsin, Sanders is looking to defeat Clinton in delegate-rich states like New York and California to make up the deficit. Secretary Clinton currently leads Senator Sanders by 250 delegates. New York, Maryland, Pennsylvania, California, and New Jersey are remaining states that feature 100 or more delegates.
If Sanders wants to mount any sort of comeback, he will have to win at least some of these states by significant margins.
By the time the California primary arrives, the race will either be largely over or quite close. In recent days, the race for the Democratic nomination has been heating up. Hillary Clinton recently hit Sanders for his position on the Sandy Hook lawsuit, tweeting that he chose gun manufacturers over the lives of children.
For his part, Sanders has said that the Secretary is “unqualified” for the highest office in the land. The days of a nice Democratic primary may be over.
