Sanders says he'll carry on though Biden enlarges his delegate lead

Senator Bernie Sanders, a well-known progressive, said Wednesday he would carry on in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, one day after former Vice President Joe Biden widened his lead in six-state mini-Super Tuesday primaries.

"We have won the ideological debate but we are losing the debate over electability," Sanders said from Burlington, the most populous city in his home state Vermont.

"I cannot tell you how many people our campaign has spoken to who say they agree with us, but will vote for Joe because they believe he's the best to beat Donald Trump. Needless to say, I strongly disagree with that assertion but that's what millions of Democrats and Independents say," said the senator.

Biden won Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi and Idaho on Tuesday night, extending his delegate lead to about 150 over Sanders, who won the Midwest state of North Dakota. Washington's primary election was still too early to call.

Sanders also said he would challenge Biden on a series of issues and make the case for his progressive politics when they square off for their first one-on-one debate of the cycle on Sunday in Arizona, according to a news report from The Hill.

However, Sanders reiterated on Wednesday that his top commitment is to ensure that Trump is not reelected in November, local analysts said he might not intend to do anything that would harm the party or the likely nominee.

Biden is still only about halfway to the 1,991 delegates a candidate needs to win the nomination after Tuesday's primaries.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)