Bernie Sanders: ‘This Has Been A Fantastic Night In Michigan’

Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. speaks during a campaign rally, Tuesday, March 8, 2016, in Miami. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)
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Bernie Sanders celebrated his unexpectedly strong showing in Michigan in an brief, impromptu press conference in Miami, arguing that “the political revolution that we are talking about is strong in every part of the country.”

“Frankly, we believe that our strongest areas are yet to happen,” he said.

He made the comments a little before 11 p.m. ET, when the race was still too close to call. Sanders held a small but steady lead through most of the evening as returns came in. The tight race was a shocker because prior polling showed Clinton leading over Sanders by more than 20 percentage points, according to the TPM PollTracker Average

“What the American people are saying is they are tired of a corrupt campaign system and super PACS funded by Wall Street and the billionaire class,” he said.

Michigan gives out its delegates proportionally, so Sanders and Clinton will likely more or less split the delegate count no matter who ultimately wins. However both candidates invested substantial campaign resources into the state and Michigan provided a major moment for Sanders to keep his campaign alive, where the electorate resembles some of the other Midwestern states down the road.

“This has been a fantastic night in Michigan. We are very grateful for all of the support that we have gotten from this state,” Sanders said. “We look forward to going to Illinois, Ohio, Missouri and the other states that we will be competing in next week.”

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