2020 candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) said on Sunday that with such a large field of primary candidates, “nobody” is going to get 50 percent of the caucus vote in Iowa.
During an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” reporter Dana Bash asked Sanders if the new CNN/Des Moines Register poll showing the Vermont senator in a near tie for second place with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Mayor Pete Buttigieg meant that he’d lost his position as the “clear progressive alternative” to former Vice President Joe Biden.
“Dana, what I think is that four years ago there were only two of us in the race and we split the vote about 50% each,” replied Sanders, who is currently in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. “This time we’ve got a whole lot of candidates and I don’t think anybody is going to reach 50 percent.”
“But I gotta tell you, we have an incredibly strong volunteer network here in Iowa,” he continued.
“We’re not going to get 50% of the vote in Iowa,” Sanders said later on. “I don’t think anybody will.”
However, the senator remains optimistic. “I think we have an excellent chance to win here.”
Watch Sanders below:
Bernie Sanders reacts to new Iowa poll: With so many candidates in the race, my campaign is "not going to get 50% of the vote in Iowa. I don't think anybody will" pic.twitter.com/3IDbkKY30g
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) June 9, 2019
