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How The Sanders Campaign Plans To Win The Nomination And The White House

Mary Schwalm
/
AP
Sen. Bernie Sanders, seen here Jan. 4 at a campaign stop in Manchester, N.H., has broken presidential fundraising records by recieving more than 2.5 million contributions in the last six months. His team says this approach is key to winning the race.

The leadership team of Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has laid out what it says is the path to victory in the party's nomination contest and the general election in November.

Sanders' campaign manager Jeff Weaver told reporters on a national conference call that all the elements are in place for Sanders to become the next President of the United States.

Weaver said the campaign has revolutionized presidential fundraising efforts by receiving more than 2.5 million contributions in the past six months. That's an all-time record for any presidential candidate.

Weaver notes that the campaign had hoped to raise roughly $35 million before Feb. 1. If things continue as they have, it will likely bring in double that amount.

Weaver says the average contribution is about $30 and that means the campaign can ask many donors to contribute again.

"Importantly, only a small fraction of those contributors are maxed out,” Weaver explains. “Meaning they can continue to sustain this campaign as we go all the way to the convention.

“We have built the infrastructure and have access to the resources,” Weaver continued, “which will allow us to go toe-to-toe with our Democratic competitors all the way to the convention next summer."

"We have built the infrastructure and have access to the resources, which will allow us to go toe-to-toe with our Democratic competitors all the way to the convention next summer." — Sanders' campaign manager Jeff Weaver

Tad Devine is a senior strategist for the Sanders campaign. Devine says Sanders has become financially competitive with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton without using a super PAC.

Devine says Sanders' fundraising strategy is a key part of his overall campaign message.

“We have a corrupt system of campaign finance in America,” Devine says. “And until we get rid of it we will not be able to fix a rigged economy which is sending all of the wealth up.”

Devine says the support they’ve received for this message “is one of the most outstanding achievements of this campaign so far." 

Weaver says Sanders will demonstrate to democratic voters over the next few months, that he would be the party's strongest candidate in the general election.

Weaver says Sanders will do this by showing that he can boost voter turnout to help elect Democrats at all levels of government.

"I think it's pretty clear that a low energy, low turnout election in November will be disastrous for Democrats,” Weaver says. “But by energizing and engaging young people, I think everyone has seen that across the country, [reaching] voters who often do not participate in elections, we can create the type of wave that can create big gains for Democrats."

On Tuesday, March 1 — Super Tuesday — a dozen states will hold their primaries.

Weaver notes that these states award delegates based on the proportion of the vote that a candidate receives.

That means the Sanders campaign doesn't need to win a lot of the Super Tuesday primaries to remain in the race, they just has to do well enough to increase their overall delegate count.

"At the end of the day ... You need delegates to win at the convention. So our strategy around March 1 is [about] how we maximize delegates." — Sanders' campaign manager Jeff Weaver

“At the end of the day, that's what matters,” Weaver says. “You need delegates to win at the convention. So our strategy around March 1 is [about] how we maximize delegates."

The Sanders campaign says it has over 90,000 volunteers in the early primary states and that these volunteers have already knocked on more than half-a-million doors.

Bob Kinzel has been covering the Vermont Statehouse since 1981 — longer than any continuously serving member of the Legislature. With his wealth of institutional knowledge, he answers your questions on our series, "Ask Bob."
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