Bernie 2016
March 26, 2016
Contact: Michael Briggs

Sanders Wins Alaska, Washington

MADISON, Wis. – On a roll, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders won the caucuses on Saturday in the state of Washington, where he holds a double-digit lead over Hillary Clinton, and in Alaska, where he won in a landslide.

“We are on a path toward victory,” Sanders told a Saturday evening rally here in Wisconsin’s capital city.

“It is hard for anybody to deny that our campaign has the momentum,” he told more than 8,100 cheering supporters who filled an arena on the University of Wisconsin campus. He said the momentum building behind his campaign comes from big crowds at rallies, from overwhelming victories, from record turnouts at caucuses and primaries, from a grassroots campaign taking on the political establishment and from more than 2 million supporters who donated less than $30 apiece on average.

While the results were still being tabulated in Washington, Alaska and Hawaii, Saturday’s caucuses were expected to result in a big gain in pledged delegates for Sanders. In the past week alone, Sanders picked up delegates in Idaho, Utah and among Democrats abroad.

Moreover, in recent days he edged into a nationwide lead over Clinton in a major national poll conducted for Bloomberg Politics.

Sanders also consistently has fared much better than the former secretary of state in matchups with Republican White House hopefuls, including GOP front-runner Donald Trump. In a recent CNN/ORC poll, Clinton had a 12-point edge over Trump but Sanders outpolled him by 20 points. Sanders also was liked by more voters than U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and Ohio Gov. John Kasich. Clinton tied Cruz and lost to Kasich.

Wisconsin is the next stop in the contest with Hillary Clinton for the Democratic Party presidential nomination. Eighty-six pledged delegates will be at stake in the April 5 primary election.

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Bernie 2016
March 27, 2016
Contact: Michael Briggs

Sanders Wins Hawaii

BURLINGTON, Vt. – U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders on Sunday issued the following statement after The Associated Press declared him the winner of Hawaii’s Democratic caucuses:

“I want to thank the people of Hawaii for their strong support and for turning out in huge numbers for Saturday's caucuses. Nobody should have any doubt that this campaign has extraordinary momentum and that we have a path toward victory. In state after state, our grassroots effort has taken on the entire political establishment. We have taken on the senators and the governors and the mayors and the members of Congress. Our political revolution is the best chance we have to keep Donald Trump or any other Republican out of the White House.”

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Democratic National Committee

DNC Chair Statement on Last Night’s Caucus Results

WASHINGTON - DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz issued the following statement:

“I want to offer my congratulations to Senator Bernie Sanders for his victories in last night’s caucuses, and to both our Democratic candidates for continuing to run campaigns focused on the issues that matter most to the American people. Compared to the gutter politics, ugly tabloid sensationalism and divisive rhetoric driving the Republican primary, Democrats are elevating our political discourse by debating ideas to raise wages, expand access to healthcare, improve public education, grow opportunity and level the playing field for hardworking American families. The contrast couldn’t be more clear. We must elect a Democrat as the 45th president of the United States.”

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Republican National Committee

RNC Statement On Last Night's Democrat Caucus Results   

WASHINGTON - Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Reince Priebus released the following statement on the results of Saturday’s Democrat caucuses:
 
“Hillary Clinton’s repeated stumbles at this stage of the race are another reminder of her deeply flawed candidacy. Winning only one out of six primaries and caucuses this week is an embarrassing performance for the Democrat front runner. At a time when the public’s concern about terrorism is growing, Hillary Clinton's glaring record of failure on fighting terrorism and her decision to set up a secret email server shows she recklessly jeopardized national security and can’t be trusted in the White House. Americans looking for new leadership will not get it from two candidates promising to rubber stamp more of the extreme Obama agenda. Only a Republican president will offer the course correction our country badly needs.”

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Earlier...

Bernie 2016
March 25, 2016
Contact: Michael Briggs

Sanders Swings for Fences in Washington Caucuses

SEATTLE – Bernie Sanders supporters filled more than 15,100 seats at the Seattle Mariners' baseball park on Friday one day before Democrats here head to caucuses to determine who to nominate for president.

It was Sanders’ sixth big rally in recent days in Washington, one of the key progressive Western states where he has tried to tap a tremendous show of support.

In just the past week, Sanders has won more delegates than Hillary Clinton. He notched double-digit wins in Idaho and Utah. He edged into a nationwide lead over Clinton in a major national poll conducted for Bloomberg Politics. And he has consistently fared much better than Clinton in matchups with Republican White House hopefuls, including GOP front-runner Donald Trump.

“Don’t let anybody tell you that Hillary Clinton is the strongest Democratic candidate to take on the Republicans. It is not true,” Sanders told the crowd at Safeco Field.

In a recent CNN/ORC poll, Clinton fared better than Trump by 12 points but Sanders outpolled the real estate tycoon by 20 points. He also beat U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and Ohio Gov. John Kasich. She tied Cruz and lost to Kasich.

Speaking from a podium placed over home plate, Sanders told the the baseball park crowd that he could win in Washington if there is a big turnout at the Saturday morning caucuses.

“The great state of Washington has the opportunity to help lead this country into a political revolution,” the U.S. senator from Vermont said.

“Tomorrow morning in the great state of Washington we are going to say loud and clear the billionaire class cannot have it all. Tomorrow morning we are going to tell the world we demand a government that represents all of us, not just a handful of wealthy campaign contributors,” Sanders said.

Earlier Friday, 11,500 Sanders backers packed a mid-day rally at the arena in Portland, Oregon, just across the state line from Vancouver, Washington.

During the rally in the area where the Portland Trail Blazers play, a sparrow perched for a minute on the front of Sanders’ podium. The video went viral on social media with the hashtag #BirdieSanders. Locals saw a special meaning in the bird landing because of the line about the city’s quirky ways – “put a bird on it” – from the TV show "Portlandia.”

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