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Bernie Sanders Is Moving On After New York

by Cate Carrejo

Even before the state's primary was officially called for his rival Hillary Clinton on Tuesday night, Bernie Sanders was moving on after New York and turning his attention toward the five big primaries coming up on April 26. As Clinton delivered her victory speech in a Manhattan ballroom, Sanders arrived in western Pennsylvania to begin his campaigning efforts in the delegate-rich state. After that short stop, Sanders jetted back to his home town of Burlington, Vermont to get "recharged" before heading back out on the trail, as he told The New York Times.

The forward surge pretty clearly shows that Sanders has no intention of dropping out of the race until the fat lady sings. Given the close race thus far and Sanders' formidable fundraising machine, which raised over $42 million in February, he seemed likely to maintain his candidacy no matter the outcome in New York. Back in March, Sanders said his campaign is "going to the Philadelphia convention in July," so it seems that Sanders has no ideas about ending his candidacy even a second early.

Sanders told The New York Times that he sees "a path towards victory" going forward, although he did not expand on what that path may be. His next chance to pick up delegates is Super Tuesday Part Four on April 26th, when Connecticut, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Rhode Island will head to the polls. Former presidential candidate and the former governor of Maryland Martin O'Malley told Rachel Maddow in a recent interview that he will not endorse a candidate in the primary election. That's no skin off Clinton's nose, since the most recent polls from Maryland show her leading the state by about 20 points. But it's a blow for Sanders, who really could have used the endorsement to pull voters for some of Maryland's 95 pledged delegates.

Likewise, Connecticut governor Dan Malloy and Delaware governor Jack Markell have both publicly endorsed Clinton. Rhode Island governor Gina Raimondo has yet to endorse a candidate, but she received endorsements from Hillary and Bill Clinton during her 2014 gubernatorial race, so she could be stumping for them soon. Clinton already has a strong advantage heading into Super Tuesday Part Four, both in polls and in endorsements, and it's very possible that she could make a clean sweep of all five states.

Despite the disadvantaged position heading into the home stretch of primary season, Sanders has shown time and time again that he won't be counted out. And the delegate math for a Sanders nomination is unlikely, but not impossible. Sanders clearly intends to keep looking towards the future, and there's really no telling what will happen.