Sanders Hindered Clinton’s Delegate Count In Northeastern Primary, Leaving A Victory Path Still Visible

In April 26’s primary showdown, Bernie Sanders hindered Clinton’s delegate count, keeping a winning path open, despite what some say are misleading mainstream media reports.

Several news sources wrongly predicted that Hillary Clinton would shut out Sanders and sweep all five states — Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Rhode Island, and Connecticut — in the northeastern primary. AOL wrote the following.

“Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and businessman Donald Trump look like the odds-on favorites to go five for five on Tuesday, when the presidential primary calendar focuses on the Northeastern corridor.”

But in fact, contrary to many media stories, Sanders won Rhode Island by a sizable amount, and came close to winning in Connecticut.

Wrong predictions in favor of Clinton are among the stories that seem to support the assertions of those who claim that mainstream media leans toward Hillary. One story published by The Hill noted how a debate was reported in the mainstream media in a way that complimented Clinton and degraded Sanders.

“The accompanying ‘News Analysis’ characterized Clinton’s performance as ‘commanding’ and said she was ‘blunt’ and ‘effective.’ Even the adverbs in the two reports favored Clinton: ‘aggressively,’ ‘crisply,’ ’emphatically,’ ‘energetically.’

“Sanders, by contrast, was ‘exasperated,’ ‘unsure,’ ‘sheepish,’ and ‘reactive.’ One of his only positive moments was when he ‘zestfully defended’ Clinton against attacks on her use of private email while secretary of State.”

Even Donald Trump noted on Tuesday, April 26, as broadcast by CNN — in his victory speech after winning all five states — that “The democrats have treated Bernie very badly, and frankly, I think he should run as an independent.”

Trump on Bernie Sanders: "Frankly, I think he should run as an independent." https://t.co/zgZjnvwUEZ #SuperTuesday https://t.co/haUi6HEFpj

— CNN (@CNN) April 27, 2016

To reserve a chance to become the Democratic nominee, Sanders needs to keep Clinton from getting 2,383 delegates before the Democratic convention. If Clinton and Sanders go into the convention without enough pledged delegates, the nominee is decided by superdelegates, who do not cast their vote until the convention.

Superdelegates are described by NBC as “governors, senators, members of the House, members of the Democratic National Committee and former presidents.”

Currently, more superdelegates have announced their support for Clinton over Sanders. However, in the 2008 election, superdelegates who had previously claimed to be voting for Clinton switched and voted for Barack Obama.

Ben Wikler, Washington director of MoveOn, told NBC that “Superdelegates should support the people’s choice.”

But does “people’s choice” mean the choice of only those people who were able to vote in primaries that prohibit some voters from participating — due to party affiliation or failure to register by a deadline — or does it mean all voters, including Independents?

By beating Clinton in Rhode Island and nearly tying her in Connecticut on Tuesday, Sanders hindered Clinton’s delegate count and has kept strong the possibility that both he and Clinton will enter the convention without enough pledged delegates to become the nominee, forcing the superdelegates to make the decision.

Some news outlets have noted that the way in which the superdelegate count has been reported has been part of the mainstream news that has favored Clinton, such as a recent story in Shadowproof.

“The vast majority of U.S. establishment media organizations report Democratic Party ‘super delegates,’ as if they are part of the delegate totals presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are winning in primaries. However, this is incredibly misleading, and whether intended or not, it essentially serves to strengthen Clinton’s campaign against Sanders.”

While Clinton previously said she would win the nomination without super delegates, she recently changed her assertion to be that she will simply have more delegates than Sanders, as she said in early April to CNN,“I intend to have the number of delegates that are required to be nominated.”

As the polls closed on April 26 and the final winners were declared, most of the mainstream media were emphasizing Hillary’s wins, and not noting Sanders’ chances, or the likelihood that Clinton will still not have enough pledged delegates by the convention.

But the truth remains. On April 26 Bernie Sanders hindered Clinton’s delegate count, keeping a winning path open for himself, and making it likely that it will be the superdelegates who choose the Democratic nominee.

[Photo by Scott Eisen/Getty Images]