Bernie: How I can still be Dem nominee

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., acknowledged Monday night that he has an "admittedly narrow path" to overtake Joe Biden in the Democratic presidential race, but he insisted he could still become the party's nominee.

Sanders, who appeared on the "Late Night with Seth Meyers" show via Skype, has fallen behind Biden by 277 delegates in the suspended Democratic contest and would need to win more than 60 percent of those still up for grabs to catch the former vice president.

"It is admittedly a narrow path, but I would tell you, Seth, that there are a lot of people who are supporting me," Sanders said. "We have a strong grass-roots movement who believe that we have got to stay in, in order to continue the fight to make the world know that we need Medicare-for-all, that we need to raise the minimum wage to a living wage, that we need paid family and medical leave . . . that we must address climate change and education."

"Campaigns are an important way to maintain that fight and raise public consciousness on those issues," he added. "So that's, I think, one of the arguments for going forward."

With both Biden and Sanders largely sidelined by the coronavirus outbreak, Sanders said it is "a very, very strange time for me."

"The campaign has been radically changed," he said. "We can't do rallies. We can't get out and do door-to-door stuff, which is what we like to do."

Sanders has faced calls from some party leaders to end his campaign and help the Democratic Party position itself for the November general election. But he has given no indication that he is preparing to do that.

He recently said he wants to debate Biden in April. His team announced it is expanding digital organizing efforts ahead of the New York primary, which on Saturday was moved from April 28 to June 23. And Sanders has signaled a strong desire to use his campaign megaphone to advocate for liberal policies.

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During his 2016 bid, he remained in the race well past the point where he had a realistic chance of catching Hillary Clinton, the eventual Democratic nominee, in the delegate count.

Sanders sought to use his standing in the race - and the prospect of an endorsement - to persuade Clinton to embrace some of his policy proposals on college tuition and health insurance.

In the 2020 race, Biden currently has 1,094 delegates to the Democratic National Convention, while Sanders has 817, according the The Washington Post's latest tally.

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