See also: Super Tuesday March 3, 2020 Grid

Reactions to Super Tuesday, March 3, 2020

Super Tuesday established Joe Biden as the clear frontrunner. He won primaries in 10 states to four for Bernie Sanders and American Samoa for Michael Bloomberg.  (Tulsi Gabbard picked up two delegates in American Samoa).  Bloomberg ended his campaign on March 4 and Elizabeth Warren withdrew on March 5 leaving essentially a Biden-Sanders race.
MARCH 3

Mike Bloomberg 2020

MIKE BLOOMBERG'S REMARKS IN WEST PALM BEACH ON SUPER TUESDAY

Remarks as delivered
“Well hello, Florida. What a crowd! Thank you all for coming!
 
“Judy and I were just going to sit at home tonight, her at her home, I at mine, watch a little television, have a drink or two. But I do want to thank Judge Judy – isn’t she amazing?
 
“And also a big thanks to all the elected officials and Florida leaders supporting our campaign including: Mayors Manny Diaz, Phil Levine, Bob Buckhorn, Keith James, and Congress Members Ted Deutch and Stephanie Murphy. Let’s hear it for them.
 
“It’s great to be here in this beautiful state. I know you’re not used to seeing a New Yorker in Southern Florida in late winter. But unlike the President, I didn’t come here to golf or to reveal classified information to Mar-a-Lago members.
 
“I came here because winning in November starts with Florida. And if I’m the nominee, let me make you this promise: we will beat Donald Trump here in Florida and in swing states around the country.
 
“Tonight, the polls are still open in a number of Super Tuesday states – and as the results come in, here’s what is clear: no matter how many delegates we win tonight, we have done something no one thought was possible.
 
“In just three months, we’ve gone from 1 percent in the polls to being a contender for the Democratic nomination for president.
 
“All across America, I’ve been talking with voters. And my message is simple: I am running to beat Donald Trump and to start rebuilding our country. And to start getting things done.
 
“And I mean big, important things: like stopping gun violence, and fighting climate change, and finally achieving affordable health coverage for all Americans.
 
“This is a campaign for change – a campaign for sanity, for honesty, a campaign for inclusion, compassion, for competence, and a campaign for human decency.
 
“And this is a campaign to bring our country back together and put the United back in the United States of America.
 
“That’s the message I’ve been delivering not only to Democrats, but also to swing voters who will actually decide who will be our next president.
 
“And tonight, we proved something very important. We proved we can win the voters who will decide the general election. And isn’t that what this is all about?
 
“Now, while my fellow candidates spent a whole year focusing on the first four states, I was out campaigning against Donald Trump in the states where the election will actually be decided like Wisconsin, and Michigan, and Pennsylvania, and Ohio, and North Carolina, and of course, Florida.
 
“President Obama proved that a Democrat can win all of those states – but in 2016, we lost them all. Well, I’m running to win them back. And together, we are going to get it done.
 
“Now, we all know Trump’s strategy: attack Democrats, make their plans look unrealistic, unaffordable, and undoable. That won’t work against us.
 
“Our plans are sensible, workable, and achievable. And we have the record and the resources to defeat Trump in swing states the Democrats lost in 2016 – like Florida.
 
“I know we can do it, and you know who else knows it? Donald Trump. That’s why he keeps attacking us on Twitter. Today he sent a Tweet out urging people not to vote for us. Gee, I wonder why?

“Clearly, Trump is scared stiff of facing us – and for good reason. In every campaign I ran for mayor, we built a broad coalition that brought Democrats and independents and moderate Republicans together.
 
“Donald Trump the other day called me short. I said Donald, where I come from we measure people from the neck up. That’s how we’re going to beat Donald Trump.
 
“I believe we need a leader who is ready to be Commander in Chief – not College Debater in Chief. So if you want someone who talks turkey and who has a record of accomplishment on all the big issues facing our country, and who has the resources to beat Trump, I’m your guy.
 
“While Trump tweets – I follow facts, respect data, and tell the truth. My whole career, I have been a doer, and I believe we need less talk, less partisanship, less division, less tweeting. In fact, how about no tweeting from the Oval Office ever again?
 
“Now, you’ve all heard our campaign slogan: Mike will get it done. Well, let me tell you what the ‘it’ is. It means winning this November and sending Donald Trump back to Mar-a-Lago, permanently.
 
“But that’s just the beginning. Because getting it done means finally providing health insurance to every American who lacks it.
 
“Getting it done means passing common-sense gun safety laws that protect our children and communities.
 
“Getting it done means making America a global leader in the fight against climate change.
 
“Getting it done means creating good jobs with higher wages.
 
“Getting it done means addressing discrimination and inequality.
 
“Getting it done means creating a path to citizenship – and finally fixing our broken immigration system.
 
“And getting it done means protecting a woman’s right to choose.
 
“Our campaign is a fight for America’s ideals and values. It’s a fight to build a better future, for everyone – not to bring back a past that left so many out. It’s a fight we cannot afford to lose.
 
“So I need your help – and I need your vote.  And when you talk to your friends and family, just tell them: if you want quality health insurance for everyone and not just empty promises, if you want to combat inequality with fairer taxes and better jobs, if you support my commitment to public education no matter what zip code you live in, if you share my belief in opportunity for all and not just for a few, if you are ready to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States of America, and if you are ready to clean out the Oval Office and get things done – then welcome to Bloomberg 2020. Thank you.”

###

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT)
Remarks on Super Tuesday
Champlain Valley Exposition
Essex Junction, VT

[DEMOCRACY IN ACTION TRANSCRIPT  |  C-SPAN video]

ANNOUNCER: Ladies and gentlemen, the next president of the United States. Bernie Sanders.

[MUSIC: "Power to the People," cheers]

SANDERS: Thank you, Vermont. You know it's a funny thing. Thirty-one years ago today we won the mayoral race in Burlington, Vermont.

And we won that race against all the odds; everybody said it couldn't be done.

And when we began this race for the presidency, everybody said it couldn't be done.

But tonight, I tell you with absolute confidence, we're going to win the Democratic nomination and we are going to defeat the most dangerous president in the history of this country.

We're going win. [CHANTS: Bernie, Bernie]  We are going, we are going to defeat Trump, because we are putting together an unprecedented grassroots, multi-generational, multi-racial movement.

It is a movement which speaks to the working families of this country who are sick and tired of working longer hours for low wages and seeing all new income and wealth going to the top 1%.

It is a movement which says the United States will have health care for all as a human right.

It is a movement that says we will bring major reforms in education, making sure that all of our kids can go to college without coming out in debt.

Now what makes this movement unique is we are taking on the corporate establishment. We are taking on the greed of Wall Street, the greed of the drug companies who charge us the highest prices in the world, the greed of the insurance companies. And given the existential crisis of climate change, we are saying to the fossil fuel industry, we are saying to the fossil fuel industry, their short term profits are not more important that the future of our country and the world.

But we are not only taking on the corporate establishment, we're taking on the political establishment.

But we're going to win because the people understand it is our campaign, our movement, which is best positioned to defeat Trump

You cannot beat Trump, with the same old, same old kind of politics. What we need is a new politics that brings working class people into our political movement, which brings young people into our political movement, and which in November will create the highest voter turnout in American political history.

So we're going to beat Trump because this will become a contrast in ideas.

One of us in this race led the opposition to the war in Iraq. You're looking at him. Another candidate voted for the war in Iraq.

One of us has spent his entire life fighting against cuts in Social Security [inaud.] to expand Social Security. Another candidate has been on the floor of the Senate, calling for cuts toSocial Security, Medicare, Medicaid and veterans programs.

Of one of us led the opposition to disastrous trade agreements, which cost us millions of good paying jobs. And that's me. And another candidate voted for disastrous trade agreements.

One of us stood up for consumers and said we will not support a disastrous bankruptcy bill. And another candidate represented the credit card companies and voted for that disastrous bill.

So here we are. We have two major goals in front of us. And they are directly related. First, we must beat a president who apparently has never read the Constitution of the United States, a president thinks we should be an autocracy, not a democracy,

But second of all, we need a movement and are a developing a movement of black, white, Latino, Native American, Asian American, gay and straight, ogpeople who are making it clear every day they will not tolerate the grotesque level of income and wealth inequality we are experiencing.

We will not give tax breaks to billionaires when a half a million Americans sleep out on the streets.

We will not allow 49% of all new income to go to the 1%, when half of our people are living paycheck to paycheck.

Now I don't know what's going happen later tonight. We're doing well in Texas right now. We won Colorado. And I'm cautiously optimistic that later in the evening, we can win the largest state in this country, the state of California.

But no matter what happens, if this campaign—and I don't know what will happen—but if it comes out to be a campaign in which we have one candidate who is standing up for the working class and the middle class, we're gonna win that election.

And if we have another candidate who has received contributions from at least 60 billionaires, we're gonna win that election.

An if there is another candidate in the race who is spending hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars, we're going to tell him in America, you cannot buy elections.

So I am excited about where we are; we have come a long, long way.

And I want to, once again thank the great state of Vermont, and all of the people in the state, not only for the victory you gave our movement tonight, but for the years and years of love and support you have given me and my family.

So Vermont, Vermont from on from the bottom of our hearts, thank you all very much. Let's go on to the White House. Thank you.

###

Former Vice President Joe Biden
Baldwin Hills Recreation Center
Baldwin Hills, CA

[DEMOCRACY IN ACTION ROUGH TRANSCRIPT*, C-SPAN / NOW THIS]
*uneven audio quality

Hello, hello, hello, hello. It's a good night. It's a good night, and it seems to be getting even better. They don't call it Super Tuesday for nothing. By the way, this is my little sister Valerie, and I'm Jill's husband. Oh, no this is—  No, you switched on me. This is my wife, this is my sister; they switched on me.

Folks, it's still early, but things are looking awful, awful good. For those, those who've been knocked down, counted out, left behind, this is your campaign. Just a few days ago the press and the pundits had declared the campaign dead. And then came South Carolina, and they had something to say about it. And we were told well when we got to Super Tuesday, it'd be over. Well it may be over for the other guy.

Tell that to the folks in Virginia, North Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Minnesota and maybe even Massachusetts—it's too close to call. And we're still waiting for Texas and Californa and a few other small states to come in. So it's looking good. I'm here to report we are very much alive.

And make no mistake about it. This campaign will send Donald Trump packing. This campaign is taking off. Join us. To those folks listen, go to JoeBiden.com, sign up, volunteer, contribute if you can. We need you, we want you and there's a place for you in this campaign.

People are talking about a revolution. We started a movement; we've increased turnout. The turnout turned out for us. That can deliver us to a moment where we can do extraordinary, extraordinary things.

Look our agenda is bold, it's progressive, it's a vision where health care is affordable and available to everybody in America, where we bring drug prices down under control and no more surprise billing, access to hospitals in rural areas as well as urban areas. Access to care. A bold vision, where we invest billions of dollars to find and I promise you cures for cancer, Alzheimer's and diabetes.

Standing up to and beating the NRA and the gun manufacturers.

And leading the world to take on the existential threat of climate change. I'm going to start by rejoining an outfit I helped put together, the Paris Climate Accord, and we're going to move it a long way.

A country where your quality of education will not depend on your zip code, where we triple funding for low-income school districts, providing raises for teachers. Full time school for three-, four- and five years old, and increasing exponentially the prospects of their success. Free community college, providing credentials for every job in the 21st century. And significant reduction in the cost of going to college and your student debt. If you volunteer, you pay nothing.

Folks we can do this, but let's get something straight. Wall Street didn't build this country; you built this country. The middle class built this country, and unions built the middle class. In the neighborhoods where we come from— [two protesters from Direct Action Everywhere ("Let Dairy Die") rush the stage, and are hustled away]

[Chants: "Let's go, Joe. Let's go, Joe."]

We're going to go. Look. The middle class is getting clobbered. The middle class is getting clobbered. Too many people in the neighborhoods that Jill and Val and I grew up in [inaud.] like they're getting hurt or badly hurt, and guess what they're the places where we come from, many of you come from. It's where [inaud.] born and raised. The people, they're the reason why I'm running; they're the reason why I'm a Democrat in the first place.

These are people that build our bridges, repair our roads, keep our water safe, who teach our kids, look, who race into burning buildings to protect other people, who grow our food and build our cars, pick up our garbage, our [inaud.], veterans, Dreamers, single moms —

And by the way every Dreamer, have hope, because I'm coming and you're not going anywhere. And we're going to provide a pathway, a pathway for 11 million citizens. If the other guy had voted for the— well I don't, shouldn't get into that, I won't get going.

Look, the iron workers, the steel workers, the boiler makers, the plumbers, the electrical workers, these are the people that have been forgotten. I agree with you man. Look, the people Trump forgot, the people I will never forgot, I will always remember. Folks, that why we need an economy that rewards work, not just wealth, re-establishes the middle class, and this time brings everybody along, everybody, regardless of their race, their ethnicity, whether they're gender or disabl–economic state, Democrats, Republican, independents, every stripe.

Look like we did in South Carolina, like we did across America today, like we'll do on our all the way to the White House. Look, that's why I was so proud yesterday to be embraced by Amy Klobuchar. We won Minnesota because of Amy Klobuchar. And we're doing well in Texas because of Beto O'Rourke. And that's why I was so proud, so incredibly proud to have Mayor Pete's endorsement as well. There's a man of character, intellect and courage. And by the way I was proud to be endorsed by Jim Clyburn. Man he is something else.

Look, our campaign reflects the diversity of this party and this nation, and that's how it should be, because we need to bring everybody along, everybody. We want a nominee who will beat Donald Trump, but also keep Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House, win back the United States Senate. If that what you want, join us. And if you want a nominee who's a Democrat, a lifelong Democrat, a proud Democrat, an Obama-Biden Democrat, join us.

Look, this all starts with a revival of decency and honor and character. Trump has fanned the flames of hate and sought to divide us. He's insulted, demonized, and actually, it's just the way he talks about people. He has not a single sense of empathy. He doesn't have any compassion. No regard for the values that made this country who we are. Not the way you were raised by your moms and dads. He looks at honesty and decency and respect and views it as a sign of weakness. He doesn't believe that we're the beacons of the world. He doesn't believe that we're all part of something bigger than ourselves.

That's why I've said from the moment I announced for this candidacy, we're literally in a battle for the soul of America.

Folks, winning means uniting America, not sowing seeds of division and anger and hate. We've got to beat Donald Trump and we will, but we can't become like him. We can't have a never ending war between the parties. We need a president who can fight, but make no mistake about it I can fight—but look we need as badly, as badly someone who can heal.

Look,  just look what we did when we passed Obamacare, or what President Obama and I saving the American automobile industry, or what we did to pass the Violence Against Women Act. But it's not enough; this is just a start. We need a president who can heal the country as well, and that is what I will do as your president, I promise you.

It's about delivering real results for you, your family and the community. It's not about me, Jill or Valerie. It's about you; it's about our families.

To paraphrase the English poet Robert Browning, he said our reach should exceed our grasp. And my reach does exceed our grasp because there's no doubt in my mind we can grasp whatever we reach for.

Ladies and gentlemen, I quoted an English poet, but let me quote a real poet now, an Irish poet.
Seamus Heaney, who wrote a poem called "The Cure At Troy," and here's what he says and I believe this to bottom of being. He said,

History says, don't hope
On this side of the grave,
But then, once in a lifetime
The longed-for tidal wave
Of justice rises up   [ed. "can rise up"]
And hope and history rhyme.

We can make hope and history rhyme because [inaud.] There's nothing we can't do. This is about the future; it's not about the past. It's about our children and our grandchildren. It's about leading this country and leading the world once again.

Folks, we just have to remember who we are, why this is the United States of America. It's time for America to get back up and once again fight for the proposition that we hold these truthes to be self-evident, that all men and women are created equal, endowed by the Creator with certain inalienable rights. We say it so often in school we don't realize how profound it is. We've never lived up to those words, but until this president, we've never walked away from it.

Ladies and gentlemen I believe with every fiber of my being that's who we are. So let's get back up. We are a decent, brave, resilient people. We can believe again. We are better than this moment. We are better than this president. So get back up and take back this country, the United States of America. There's not a single thing we can't do. God bless you and may God protect our troops. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

###
Democratic National Committee

A Very Super Tuesday: Democrats Smash Turnout Records

Across the country, Democratic voters turned out in record numbers to make Donald Trump a one-term president.

As Super Tuesday results poured in last night, Donald Trump had plenty to be nervous about. In every corner of the country, voters flocked to cast their ballots for Democrats, smashing turnout records along the way. See for yourself:

In Virginia:

  • More than 1.3 million Virginia Democrats voted in this year’s primary, blowing past 2016 (785,190) and 2008 (986,203). That represents an increase of nearly 70% over 2016.

In Maine:

  • Associated Press: “Top election official: Maine turnout ‘heavier than expected’”

  • Bangor Daily News: “Maine poised to beat turnout projections in Tuesday’s presidential primary”

In Colorado:

  • Denver Post: “Participation in the Democratic primary already was nearly five times as high as caucus turnout in 2016, as of late Tuesday.”

  • With 82% of precincts reporting, more than 756,000 Colorado Democrats voted in this year’s primary, compared to fewer than 125,000 in 2016.

In Texas:

In Minnesota:

  • Twin Cities Pioneer Press: “Turnout strong for Minnesota’s first Super Tuesday vote”

    • “Minnesota’s first Super Tuesday primary appears to have accomplished what state lawmakers wanted when they ditched presidential caucuses: more voter participation.”

    • “With 99.7 percent of precincts reporting as of Wednesday morning, nearly 885,000 Minnesotans cast ballots in Tuesday’s presidential primary. In 2016, just 318,000 people participated in caucuses statewide.”

  • Duluth News Tribune: Approximately 82,000 Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party absentee ballots were requested, compared to roughly 12,000 Republican ballots.

In North Carolina:

In California:

  • “Ballot turnouts were running about 40 percent higher than 2016 in Orange County as of Monday, and election officials estimate overall turnout could reach about the mid-60s. Vote-by-mail ballots were on track to beat the 2012 turn-in by 70 percent, Orange County Registrar Neal Kelley said.”

In Tennessee:

  • In a victory for voters, a Tennessee judge ruled in favor of an injunction filed by the Tennessee Democratic Party to extend polling hours following a devastating tornado in Middle Tennessee.

In Utah:

  • Daily Herald: “Utah sees record-breaking turnout during first Super Tuesday presidential primary”

  • More than 175,000 Utah Democrats voted in this year’s primary, more than double the 81,606 who caucused in 2016, and more than the 131,403 who voted in the 2008 primary.

In Massachusetts:


In Alabama:
In Arkansas:

  • More than 230,000 Arkansas Democrats turned out to vote, surpassing turnout in 2016 (221,000).

In Vermont:

  • More than 157,000 Vermont Democrats voted this year, topping 2008 turnout and outpacing 2016 by nearly 23,000 votes.

###
Republican National Committee

RNC Statement on Super Tuesday

WASHINGTON — Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel released the following statement on Super Tuesday:
 
“While the Democrat Party continues to splinter over which far-Left, socialist candidate they can stomach, Republicans are more united than ever behind President Trump," said Chairwoman McDaniel. "Just tonight, our party saw historic turnout numbers in several battleground states. President Trump’s record of results has fueled the momentum for our movement. We are expanding our unprecedented data-driven ground operation into 23 states and engaging with an ever growing base of supporters. Not a single Democrat presidential candidate can compete with President Trump in November.”  
 
###
Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.

Trump campaign statement on Democrat Super Tuesday results

 
“The results only increase the likelihood that no candidate will have enough delegates for a first ballot victory at their convention, which only means more chaos! The media is hyperventilating about Joe Biden but everyone should remember that he is just as terrible a candidate right now as he was a few days ago. At the same time, establishment Democrats have ganged up to try to deny Bernie Sanders the nomination, which is causing even more mayhem. Even if Bernie is not on November’s ballot, his big government socialist ideas will be because they have become mainstream in today’s Democrat Party. President Trump will wipe the floor with whatever Democrat is unlucky enough to be the nominee.”

- Brad Parscale, Trump 2020 campaign manager
Human Rights Campaign

HRC President on Historic LGBTQ Turnout on Super Tuesday 

Today, LGBTQ people turned out in droves and nearly doubled their representation in the electorate according to NBC exit polling. In response, Alphonso David, President of the Human Rights Campaign -- the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) civil rights organization -- issued the following statement:
“Tonight, LGBTQ people showed up in record numbers and cemented our status as a crucial constituency to court. LGBTQ people and our rights have been on the ballot for decades, compelling us to register to vote and participate in politics rather than let others decide our rights for us.

“2020 marks the most pro-equality field of Democratic Presidential candidates in U.S. history. Our power has continued to grow and candidates are seeing us increasingly for the critical voting bloc we are and have pursued us vigorously, releasing policy after policy providing more details about their LGBTQ platforms than any other Democratic primary field in history.

“Over the last three years, the Trump-Pence Administration has repeatedly sought to allow discrimination against LGBTQ people in healthcare, housing, public spaces, services and other aspects of life, rescinded protections for transgender students, and banned transgender troops from serving openly in the military.

“The 11 million LGBTQ voters and 57 million Equality Voters -- LGBTQ people and our allies -- are ready to oust the Trump-Pence administration and elect a true ally in the White House. Tonight is only the beginning.”
STATE BY STATE ANALYSIS

State
LGBTQ Voters as % of Super Tuesday Voters
LGBTQ people as % of Adults
Alabama
6%
3.1%
California
10%
5.3%
Colorado
9%
4.6%
Maine
13%
4.9%
Massachusetts
13%
5.4%
Minnesota
8%
4.1%
North Carolina
7%
4%
Oklahoma
8%
3.8%
Tennessee
8%
3.5%
Texas
10%
4.1%
Vermont
10%
5.2%
Virginia
8%
3.9%

###

MARCH 4

Warren for President

Next Steps

By Roger Lau

Elizabeth and I are so grateful for all the hard work of everyone on this team — not only leading up to Super Tuesday, but in all the weeks and months before.

To every volunteer, donor, and supporter: Thank you for everything you’ve done.

Last night, we fell well short of our viability goals and projections, and we are disappointed in the results. We’re still waiting for more results to come in to get a better sense of the final delegate math. And we also all know the race has been extremely volatile in recent weeks and days with frontrunners changing at a pretty rapid pace.

But we are obviously disappointed, and Elizabeth is talking with our team to assess the path forward.

All of us have worked for Elizabeth long enough to know that she isn’t a lifetime politician and doesn’t think like one. She’s going to take time right now to think through the right way to continue this fight. There’s a lot at stake for this country and the millions of people who are falling further and further behind.

This decision is in her hands, and it’s important that she has the time and space to consider what comes next.

Elizabeth believes in her ideas and in the big, structural change that is badly needed to root out corruption in Washington and will decide what she thinks is the best way to advance them.
We’ll have more soon.
Mike Bloomberg 2020
Hey there, it’s Kevin --

For everyone who voted for Mike -- a sincere thank you. We may not know the exact delegate allocation for some time. But we are grateful to each and every one of you who got us to this point. We launched our campaign exactly 100 days before Super Tuesday. In that incredibly short time, we built a nationwide coalition focused on making a better future for America.

Super Tuesday dominated the news last night. But as the results came in, I was thinking about what else happened yesterday. Tennessee declared a state of emergency after tornadoes took multiple lives and destroyed homes and businesses. The stock market swung wildly, and closed more than 780 points down -- even after emergency rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. New cases of coronavirus were confirmed in New York and North Carolina.

At times like these, our country needs a proven leader. That is why we’re in this fight. Mike has shown that he has what it takes to bring people together and make progress -- on climate change, on gun safety, on job creation, on expanding health care, on crisis management and so much more.

Thousands of you have joined us on this journey -- as we've gone we've gone from just 1% in the polls to being a contender for the Democratic nomination. That's why I wanted to share this video with you, featuring the voices of our supporters. Watch the video to see why we're here and what matters most in this election:
https://www.mikebloomberg.com/2020/em-were-here

Thank you for getting us this far. Our number one priority remains defeating Donald Trump in November.

- Kevin Sheekey
Campaign Manager, Bloomberg 2020
Bloomberg 2020
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 4, 2020

STATEMENT FROM MIKE BLOOMBERG

This morning, Mike Bloomberg released the following statement: 

“Three months ago, I entered the race for President to defeat Donald Trump. Today, I am leaving the race for the same reason: to defeat Donald Trump – because it is clear to me that staying in would make achieving that goal more difficult.

“I’m a believer in using data to inform decisions. After yesterday’s results, the delegate math has become virtually impossible – and a viable path to the nomination no longer exists. But I remain clear-eyed about my overriding objective: victory in November. Not for me, but for our country. And so while I will not be the nominee, I will not walk away from the most important political fight of my life. 

“I’ve always believed that defeating Donald Trump starts with uniting behind the candidate with the best shot to do it. After yesterday’s vote, it is clear that candidate is my friend and a great American, Joe Biden.
 
“I’ve known Joe for a very long time. I know his decency, his honesty, and his commitment to the issues that are so important to our country – including gun safety, health care, climate change, and good jobs.
 
“I’ve had the chance to work with Joe on those issues over the years, and Joe has fought for working people his whole life. Today I am glad to endorse him – and I will work to make him the next President of the United States.

“I am immensely proud of the campaign we ran, the issues we raised, and the sweeping and achievable plans we proposed – including our Greenwood Initiative to right historic wrongs, fight racial inequality, and make the promise of equal opportunity real for the Black communities that have endured centuries of exploitation and discrimination. That work is fundamental to the future of our country – and to the more perfect union that each generation is called to build.

“I am deeply grateful to all the Americans who voted for me – and to our incredibly dedicated staff and volunteers all around the country, who knocked on more than two million doors and held 12 million voter conversations in an incredibly short amount of time. No one outworked our team, and I couldn’t be prouder of everyone who was part of it. And I will be forever grateful to all the mayors, local and state legislators, Members of Congress, and many others who believed in me, endorsed my candidacy, and worked hard to unite voters around our vision. Your support and trust sustained me, and I look forward to working with you in the months and years ahead. 

“We made our campaign slogan a clear, simple promise: Mike will get it done. And I intend to keep working on the “it.” I will continue to work for sensible, common sense policy solutions that can get done. That includes passing gun safety laws that save lives. Fighting climate change. Improving health care. Making college more accessible and affordable. Creating economic opportunity for all. And helping mayors and local leaders across the country who are doing so much important work on all of these issues. 

“The past few months have been some of the most inspiring of my life, and I want to thank the tens of thousands of Americans, from Maine to California, whom I was privileged to meet – and who every day, with their voices and their ideas, made this campaign such a powerful experience. And I am intent on making it a lasting experience: I want my supporters to stay engaged, stay active and stay committed to our issues. I will be right there with you. And together, we will get it done.”

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT)
Campaign Update
Bernie 2020 Vermont Headquarters 
Burlington, VT

[DEMOCRACY IN ACTION TRANSCRIPT  |  C-SPAN video]

Thanks for coming. Let me begin by thanking the many, many people all across the country who
yesterday supported our historic campaign, Many, many people all across the country who yesterday supported our historic campaign. We were obviously especially gratified to win in Utah, win in Colorado, win in California, the largest state in the country where there are more delegates, and I am always grateful for the support that I receive here in the state of Vermont.

Now I haven't seen the latest delegate count, but my guess is that after California is thrown into the hopper it's going to be pretty close. We may be off by a few, Biden maybe up by a few, but I think we go forward basically neck and neck.

And I very much look forward—we'll be on a plane tomorrow, going out west and campaigning and doing everything we can to win in Michigan and Washington, Mississippi, North Dakota, Idaho and Missouri.

What this campaign, I think, is increasingly about is which side are you on?

Our campaign is unprecedented because there has never been a campaign in recent history that has taken on the entire corporate establishment. And I'm talking about Wall Street. And I'm talking about the insurance companies and the drug companies and the fossil fuel industry.

There has been never a campaign in recent history which has taken on the entire political establishment, and that is an establishment which is working frantically to try to defeat us.

And there's not been a campaign I think that has been having to deal with the kind of venom we're seeing from some in the corporate media. This campaign has been compared to the coronavirus on television, we have been described as a Nazi army marching across France. Etcetera, etcetera.

As we come into the last several months of this campaign what I hope very much is that what we can focus on is an issue-oriented campaign which deals with the concerns of the American people. As some of you may recall the last debate that took place really was I think insulting to the American people. It was a food fight. It was about who could yell the loudest. That's not what American people want; they want a serious debate on serious issues.

Joe Biden is somebody I have known for many years. I like Joe; I think he's a very decent human thing.

Joe and I have a very different voting record,

Joe and I have a very different vision for the future of this country.

And Joe and I are running very different campaigns.

And my hope is that in the coming months we will be able to debate and discuss the very significant differences that we have.

Joe is running a campaign which is obviously heavily supported by the corporate establishment. At last count he has received funding from at least 60 billionaires. 60 billionaires.

Our campaign has received more campaign contributions from more Americans averaging $18 and 50 cents than any campaign in the history of our country at this point in time.

So what does it mean when you have a campaign which is funded very significantly by the wealthy and the powerful. Does anyone seriously believe that a president backed by the corporate world is going to bring about the changes in this country that working families and the middle class and lower income people desperately need?

We are going to the Midwest. I'll be in Michigan, shortly. And as I think everybody knows, Michigan,
Wisconsin Indiana—Midwest in general,  Minnesota—have been very hard hit by disastrous trade agreements.

And Joe is going to have to explain to the people, the union workers in the Midwest, why he supported disastrous trade agreements like NAFTA and PNTR with China, which have cost this country millions of good paying jobs and in fact have resulted in a race to the bottom, where people are now earning lower wages. Millions of people today lost good paying jobs in manufacturing and are now earning substantially less than they used to.

Joe is going to have to explain to the American people why he voted for a Wall Street bailout, something that I vigorously opposed.

Joe is going to have to explain to the American people, who are so tired of endless wars which have cost us too many lives, destabilized many regions around the world, have cost us trillions of dollars—why he was a leader in getting us involved in the war in Iraq.

At a time when half of our people are living paycheck to paycheck and struggling to make ends meet, Joe is going to have to explain to the American people want you voting for a disastrous
bankruptcy bill, which benefited the credit card companies.

 Joe is going to have to explain to people all over this country why he was on the floor of the Senate time and time again talking about the need, not only to cut Social Security, Medicare Medicaid and veterans programs, How does that happen. Why would a Democrat talk about cutting Social Security Medicare, Medicaid and veterans programs.

Joe and I have a very different opinion with regarding health care. Joe, essentially wants to maintain what I consider to be a dysfunctional and cruel healthcare system in which we are spending twice as much per person on health care as are the people of any other country. And yet we have 87 million Americans who are uninsured, underinsured, 30,000 people who are dying and 500,000 people will go bankrupt every single year because of medically related bills. And on top of that we pay by far—not even close—highest prices in the world for prescription drugs from an industry, which is involved in collusion and price fixing.

So the American people have got to understand that this is a conflict about ideas, about a record, about a vision for where we go forward.

And I like Joe. Joe is a decent guy and I do not want this campaign to degenerate into a Trump type epic, where we're attacking each other, where it's personal attacks. That is the last thing this country wants.

Joe has his ideas, his record, his vision for the future. I have mine. And I look forward to a serious debate on the serious issues facing this country. And I would hope that the media will help us do that, allow that kind of debate to take place.

And by the way, I would offer Joe—because I know the issue of health care among many other issues is such an enormously important issue—I would hope that instead of having a debate where we have to spend 28 seconds trying to respond to a complicated issue, maybe we could spend an hour talking about why the United States is the only major country on Earth not to guarantee health care to all people through something like a Medicare for All single payer program.


QUESTION: Senator, in 2016 you won Michigan. This has now become a swing state. Donald Trump flipped that state later on in the general election. Do you have to win that state to prove again that you can beat him in a general?

SANDERS: Well look. I have said— I'm asked every day, do you have to win this state, do you have to win that state? You know  I wish we could win all of the states.

QUESTION: But you won it over Hillary in 2016.

SANDERS: We won it by a few points. Look we are going into there with the full expectation and the hope that we will win. Michigan is obviously an enormously important state; it's a state I feel very comfortable in. We're going to be going to Michigan within a few days. And I think some of the issues that the people of Michigan are concerned about are trade. And they were devastated, they were devastated by trade agreements, like NAFTA and PNTR with China, trade agreements which are vigorously opposed which Joe Biden supported. And that is certainly one of the issues that I will be talking about in terms of Michigan.


QUESTION: Senator, you talk about a mass movement, a broad coalition.

SANDERS: Yes.

QUESTION: Are you disappointed that that wasn't able to deliver more states last night, and what's your plan to [inaud.]?

SANDERS: Well look, you know of course I'm disappointed. I would like to win every state by a landslide. It's not gonna happen.

What we are trying to do is unprecedented, alright. We are talking about a political revolution. We are talking about bringing millions and millions of people today who have no voice, who have given up on the political process, who in many cases are working longer hours for lower wages, people who don't have any healthcare, people who have not traditionally been involved in the political process.

You all know what politics has always been about in America. You got a candidate from the establishment going out to rich people's homes raising all kinds of money and then running for president.

This is a different campaign. This is a campaign which is trying to bring—and it is not easy—people who have not been involved in the political process.

So you might want to ask me, maybe as a follow up question: Have we been as successful as I would hope in bringing young people in? And the answer is no. We're making some progress. But historically everybody knows that young people do not vote in the kind of numbers that older people vote in. I think that will change in the general election, but I am, to be honest with you, we have not done as well in bringing young people in the political process. It is not easy.

Yes.

QUESTION: And particularly African American voters. What's your strategy going forward?

SANDERS: Well we're doing better, you know. And you know, no denying that Joe Biden has done very well with the African American community, but I think when you look—and I haven't had the time honestly to analyze it—but I think if you look at California, if you look at people of color in general, African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans—we won that big time. Big time, not even close. So we are doing very well with people of color. We're going to do better I think with the African American community and we continue to try to do better.

Yes, ma'am.

QUESTION: Senator, have you been in touch with Elizabeth Warren? Have you asked for her support? She's weighing her next steps today.

SANDERS: Yes, we did speak on the phone a few hours ago. And what Senator Warren told me is that she is assessing her campaign. She has not made any decisions as at this point. And it is important, I think, for all of us, certainly me, who has known Elizabeth Warren for many, many years, to respect the time and the space that she needs to make her decision.

Yes.


QUESTION: Thank you Senator. Two questions sort of on party unity.

First off, very simply, you still believe the person with the plurality of the delegates rather than a majority should be the nominee? And then also with reference to Elizabeth Warren, and also what you were saying about the attacks on your supporters and campaign, obviously there's been a lot of personal vitriol online right? And people are pressuring Elizabeth Warren to drop out. Do you want to be a unifying figure, and what's your message [inaud.]?

SANDERS: No I don't think people, look—  Elizabeth Warren is very, very excellent senator. She has run a strong campaign. She will make her own decision in her own time.

And in terms of vitriol on the, online, I'm disgusted by it. Look you know I think the you know the Twitter world is an opportunity for people to debate issues, have good, honest debates about issues, but not to make vitriolic attacks on somebody because you disagree them.

QUESTION: And the plurality question.

SANDERS: Yeah, no, absolutely. Look. Here let me say a word on that. And again I get a little bit annoyed because I think the media has been distorting my record on that.

You all know that the rules of the Democratic Convention are different today than they were in 2016, something that we fought for. I wanted, I believed then, and I believe now that it should be the American people through the primary process who determines who the Democratic nominee is.

Four years ago, before the first vote was cast in Iowa, Hillary Clinton had 500 super delegates lined up behind her. It's like starting a 100-yard dash with one candidate on the 30-yard line. And that seemed to be absurd. I wanted to get rid of all super delegates. We did not prevail, but we did manage to get super delegates out of voting on the first ballot. So I what I said, then, is before—without going into a whole long deal—before California, which was then the last primary, yeah, if there was some super, if we had won California, if we had the momentum, if super delegates were voting on the first ballot, yeah give us some, give us some thought.

But right now there are no super delegates voting on the first ballot. And I just want all of you to think about what it will look like to this country if candidate x—and I don't know who that candidate x might be—I hope it's me, it could be somebody else, goes into the convention in Milwaukee with the most votes. And then the party leadership and the insiders and the corporate world say oh yes the people voted for you. You won, you know, a number of states, you got more votes than your opponent. But we, the corporate world, the insiders, we don't think you're the candidate, and we're going to select candidate z. I think that would cause massive dismay within the American people. So yes my views have not changed on that.

Yeah.


QUESTION: I wanted to ask you about Michael Bloomberg stepping out and dropping out of the race.

SANDERS: Has he stepped out and dropped out?

QUESTION: He's dropped and supporting Joe Biden. I wanted to get your thoughts on what he brought to this race.

SANDERS: Well, that's first I heard about that. He certainly brought a lot of money into this race. He certainly made a lot of television networks very, very wealthy and I'm sure they're very disappointed that he's leaving.

Look I have no animus towards Mayor Bloomberg. I surely, strongly disagree with many of his policies as Mayor of the City of New York, including stop and frisk and many other policies, but this just confirms exactly what I said. It's what the media has been talking about for months. How do we stop Bernie Sanders? How do we stop a movement of working people and low income people? How do we stop a multi-generational, multi-racial movement which is standing up for justice?

And what you do is you get candidates out of the race to rally around Joe Biden. And now Joe will have behind him, I don't know what—this is the first I've heard about what role Mayor Bloomberg will be playing. But obviously, as the ninth wealthiest person in this country who is worth some $60 billion. I suspect we will see a lot of money coming into Biden's campaign, probably a lot of negative ads, attacking. That's what we're taking on, and you know, we are taking on right now.

We had to deal with this in Super Tuesday, and I mentioned this to you the other day. I don't know if anybody did any research on it. We're dealing with a group called The Big Tent, which is a corporate PAC, probably funded by the drug companies and the insurance companies and
fossil fuel industry would be my guess. They spent millions and millions and millions of dollars in the last few days trying to tear us down and to defeat us. And that is what this campaign is about.

So when you talk about unprecedented campaigns, that is what we're dealing with. We're taking them all on. We're taking on billionaires, and I'll add Bloomberg to the list. We're taking on Wall Street and I know they're getting very nervous. Guess the stock market went up this morning because they thought that Biden did well. Taking on the military industrial complex. There has not been a campaign in modern American history, maybe in the history of this country— And let me talk about unprecedented. If anybody in this room thought that a year ago—we began our campaign about a year ago—that a campaign that was taking on Wall Street and the drug companies and the insurance companies and the fossil fuel industry and the military-industrial complex and the prison-industrial complex, and most of the 1%, if anybody here thought that a year would come and go and we will be either tied for first, a few votes, a few votes down, delegates up or down, that is a pretty amazing achievement.

I just want to thank and maybe conclude by thanking the ten of thousands of volunteers who are standing up for justice in this unprecedented campaign. I have every reason to believe that we're going to win this thing, we're going to win it in Milwaukee. And if we win it, this I firmly believe, that we are the campaign to defeat Donald Trump. I know everybody, every Democrat out there, and most independents and some Republicans understand the moral imperative to defeat Donald Trump. And I believe that the nature of our campaign, which is grassroots, is the campaign to defeat Trump. So thank you all very much.

Alright one last question, yeah.


QUESTION: You put out some new ads today...

SANDERS: Some what?

QUESTION: New ads today you put out, one of them stitching together some praise from President Obama over the years. What is it you're hoping to achieve with that ad?

SANDERS: Well look. We have worked with President Obama—I'm not going to say he and I are best friends, we talk every now and then. We worked closely and he was great on something that I think is enormously important, increasing by $11 billion money for the community health center program, something he was very very supportive of. And you know I wanted to make it clear, because you know there's a lot of dishonest statements about my relationship with Obama, to say that I worked with him and I respect them, and look forward to working with him.

And by the way, let me say this, and this is true of what happened in 2016. I have not the slightest doubt that there is enormous pressure on President Obama to jump into this race and support Joe Biden. And some of you may have read the other day that he said no, that he thinks the best role that he can play—and I agree with him—is to support the winner so he doesn't create more division. And I think he's right, but that's not easy for him to do, and I very much appreciate his willingness to do that.

Thank you all very much.


QUESTION: Senator, you say you're the best candidate to defeat Donald Trump, but you lost nine states yesterday so how do you still make that case?

SANDERS: Thank you.

###
Bloomberg elaborated on his statement in the afternoon, making remarks to staff and supporters:

Former New York City Michael Bloomberg
Remarks Thanking Staff and Supporters
New York, NY

C-SPAN video

Former Vice President Joe Biden
Statement
Westwood, CA

[DEMOCRACY IN ACTION TRANSCRIPT  |  C-SPAN video]

Folks this is going to be very short. And I just wanted to come down and let me begin by thanking everybody for being here. Mr. Mayor thank you, thank you so, so much for your unending support, going all over the country for me and it means a lot.

Folks, look, I want to thank everyone. We had a great night last night, and tremendous support from all across the nation with, with victories in Texas, Virginia, North Carolina, Arkansas, Alabama, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Massachusetts and we just this morning we heard we won Maine as well. We all know it's gonna be a while before the final results come in in California, but those of you who have been knocked down, those of you who have been counted out, this is your campaign. This is your campaign.

Look, we're going to bring together all Americans and we did that, we showed that last night regardless your race, your gender, whether you have a disability, your ethnicity, Democrats Republicans, Independents of every stripe. I really mean that. This is what we have to do to win. This is what we have to do to unify the nation. That's why I entered the race in the first place to unify this country. So we welcome all those who want to join us, all those who want to join us and to build a movement. And this is a movement we're building; it is a movement. And we need that movement to beat Donald Trump, and to build a future we all know is possible.

You know I'm especially proud that our campaign is generating so much enthusiasm, driving up voter turnout all across the nation. This idea that we didn't have a movement—look at the results, look at who's showing up. We are bringing out, this campaign, the people behind me are bringing out, people have not participated. And it's way up, way up. And so it proves to me that positive progressive vision we have been providing for the nation is is resonating, resonating all over the country.

To make sure healthcare is affordable and accessible to everyone.

To make sure that every child gets a quality education regardless of the zip code they live in.

And, and to take on and beat the NRA and the gun manufacturers which I promise you I will do.

And not only protect Social Security, but what I've been calling for some time, increasing benefits for the those who are seniors and that that are in need now after they've lost a spouse or they have essentially run out of their coverage because they've been living long thank God and securing it for every generation that follows. That's the proposal we put forward.

And take on the existential threat of climate change, you know, is the threat to our planet. And, you know, creating the process will create over 10 million good paying jobs, not 15 bucks an hour 45, 50 bucks an hour with benefits. That's what's going to happen. And those people who may be displaced by this process, they're the ones are going to get those jobs.

And I was proud, I was proud to serve as President Obama's vice president for for eight years and what we were able to accomplish. But from passing Obamacare to the work we did to help rescue the auto industry and, and the nation's economy. Everybody kind of forgets My mother used to have an expression, she said, the greatest ability God gave mankind was the ability to forget. And then she'd say, if that weren't the case women would only have one child. But all kidding aside, we forget where we were. And we were just getting ready, we had just gotten the economy up and running again in a big way. And we were about to rebuild the middle class in a way that we should be building it now; we will. We took on a climate change. Everything was just beginning. But we know we have so much more to do. We have to put a bigger, broader vision for this nation and make it happen.

And but first, first we have to defeat Donald Trump. And so we have to keep Nancy Pelosi as a speaker in order to do that. We have to also win the Senate back. And that's how we're going to this vision that I have for the future, that's how we're going to be able to make it a reality.

You know what we can't let happen in the next few weeks is let this primary turn into a campaign of negative attacks. The only thing that that can do is help Donald Trump and it doesn't do anything to help any one of the candidates who are left in the campaign. So we have to keep our eye on the ball, and the eye and the ball is to reclaim the soul of this country.

I believe people understand the moment we're in, that Donald Trump poses an existential threat to our standing in the world, and you really does. They have to know that he's fanned the flames, they all know that he's fanned the flames of hate and sought to divide us. They've watched him insult, insult our allies and embrace demagogues. He's embraced dictators all around the world. At the same time our alliances are weakened, without any question every alliance we've had has been weakened.

And I know that if we give this man another four years in the White House he'll forever and fundamentally change the character of this nation. We can't let this happen. That's why, from the moment I entered this race, I did say we're in the battle for the soul of this nation. and we are.

Now it's on a Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Idaho, North Dakota, Washington State. And we're going to take this fight all across America to rebuild the middle class, to give people an opportunity that's been denied them of late with this president, and unite—the next president I said many times, has to be able to he or she has to be able on the first day that they're elected president, they're sworn in, stand on the stage, and they're going to face a divided nation, and a world in disarray. And they have to be able to know what they're doing. I know what I want to do. I'm going to make it clearer and clearer to all the people in this country between now and election day. And I believe we have significant opportunity, a significant opportunity to move this country, to command the 21st century, unlike we've had any opportunity before. I really believe that with every fiber of my being.

So folks, as I said to the beginning character is on the ballot. Not only the character the candidates, but the character the nation. So I'm looking forward to it. And again, I want to thank you all, I'm not going to take any questions. I'm sure you all have thousands of them. And you're going to get a chance to ask me a lot of them as we go along. I just wanted to make a statement before I, before I headed out. I'm doing another interview in a moment here. And, but I want to thank you all. Thank you, everybody.


REPORTER shouts question: Is the establishment trying to defeat Bernie Sanders, Mr. Vice President?

BIDEN turns around and responds: The establishment are all those hard-working middle class people, those African Americans...[inaud.]
MARCH 5

Tulsi 2020

American Samoa Democratic Party Confirms Tulsi Gabbard Wins Two Delegates

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard (U.S. Rep, Hawaii) received confirmation today that she won two delegates during the Super Tuesday election in American Samoa after a strong second place finish there. 

“Our campaign has been in touch with the American Samoa Democratic Party, and it has been confirmed to us that Tulsi received two pledged delegates, not one as has been previously reported,” said campaign spokesperson Cullen Tiernan. 

The Gabbard campaign is requesting all media outlets correct their delegate counters to reflect this confirmation. 

Tulsi remains focused on bringing her campaign message directly to the American people. This Saturday, she will attend a town hall in Las Vegas moderated by NORML. There, she will discuss criminal justice reform, and she will continue to share her vision for ending our engagement in costly regime change wars, the new Cold War and arms race, and investing US resources in serving the needs of the American people.

About Tulsi Gabbard:
 
Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard is the first female combat veteran to ever run for US president and, along with Tammy Duckworth, one of the first two female combat veterans elected to Congress. Currently a major in the Army National Guard, she has served for more than 16 years and deployed twice to the Middle East.
 
Tulsi is a Democrat and was first elected to Congress in 2012. She has served there for more than 6 years, including on the Homeland Security, Foreign Affairs, and Armed Services Committees.
 
Tulsi was Vice Chair of the Democratic National Committee from 2013 until she resigned in 2016 to endorse Bernie Sanders in his bid for president.
 
Tulsi’s campaign for president is powered completely by people. She does not accept campaign contributions from corporations, lobbyists, or any political action committees.
 
Tulsi was born a US citizen on April 12, 1981 in American Samoa. When she was two years old, her family moved to Hawaii, where she grew up. As is typical of many residents of Hawaii, she is of mixed ethnicity — Asian, Caucasian, and Polynesian descent.
Warren for President

Elizabeth Warren Remarks to Campaign Staff Announcing that She is Suspending her Campaign

Charlestown, MA - Today, Elizabeth Warren announced on a phone call with her campaign staff that she is suspending her campaign. 

Her remarks are below as delivered:

I love you guys too. 
 
I want to start with the news. I want all of you to hear it first, and I want you to hear it straight from me: today, I’m suspending our campaign for president.
 
I know how hard all of you have worked. I know how you disrupted your lives to be part of this. I know you have families and loved ones you could have spent more time with. You missed them and they missed you. And I know you have sacrificed to be here.
 
So from the bottom of my heart,  thank you, for everything you have poured into this campaign. 
 
I know that when we set out, this was not the call you ever wanted to hear.  It is not the call I ever wanted to make.  But I refuse to let disappointment blind me – or you – to what we’ve accomplished.  We didn’t reach our goal, but what we have done together – what you have done – has made a lasting difference. It’s not the scale of the difference we wanted to make, but it matters – and the changes will have ripples for years to come.
 
What we have done – and the ideas we have launched into the world, the way we have fought this fight, the relationships we have built – will carry through, carry through for the rest of this election, and the one after that, and the one after that.
 
So think about it:
  • We have shown that it is possible to build a grassroots movement that is accountable to supporters and activists and not to wealthy donors – and to do it fast enough for a first-time candidate to build a viable campaign.  Never again can anyone say that the only way that a newcomer can get a chance to be a plausible candidate is to take money from corporate executives and billionaires. That’s done.
     
  • We have also shown that it is possible to inspire people with big ideas, possible to call out what’s wrong and to lay out a path to make this country live up to its promise.  
  • We have also shown that race and justice – economic justice, social justice, environmental justice, criminal justice – are not an afterthought, but are at the heart everything that we do. 
  • We have shown that a woman can stand up, hold her ground, and stay true to herself – no matter what.
  • We have shown that we can build plans in collaboration with the people who are most affected. You know just one example: our disability plan is a model for our country, and, even more importantly, the way we relied on the disability communities to help us get it right will be a more important model.
And one thing more: Campaigns take on a life and soul of their own and they are a reflection of the people who work on them.
 
This campaign became something special, and it wasn’t because of me. It was because of you. I am so proud of how you all fought this fight alongside me: you fought it with empathy and kindness and generosity – and of course, with enormous passion and grit. 
 
Some of you may remember that long before I got into electoral politics, I was asked if I would accept a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that was weak and toothless. And I replied that my first choice was a consumer agency that could get real stuff done, and my second choice was no agency and lots of blood and teeth left on the floor.  And in this campaign, we have been willing to fight, and, when necessary, we left plenty of blood and teeth on the floor. And I can think of one billionaire who has been denied the chance to buy this election. 
 
Now, campaigns change people. And I know that you will carry the experiences you have had here, the skills you’ve learned, the friendships you have made, will be with you for the rest of your lives. I also want you to know that you have changed me, and I will carry you in my heart for the rest of my life.
 
So if you leave with only one thing you leave with, it must be this: choose to fight only righteous fights, because then when things get tough – and they will – you will know that there is only option ahead of you: nevertheless, you must persist.
 
You should all be so proud of what we’ve done together – what you have done over this past year.
  • We built a grassroots campaign that had some of the most ambitious organizing targets ever – and then we turned around and surpassed them. 
    • Our staff and volunteers on the ground knocked on over 22 million doors across the country. 
       
    • They made 20 million phone calls and they sent more than 42 million texts to voters. That’s truly astonishing. It is.  
  • We fundamentally changed the substance of this race. 
    • You know a year ago, people weren’t talking about a 2-cent wealth tax, universal childcare, cancelling student loan debt for 43 million Americans while reducing the racial wealth gap, or breaking up big tech. Or expanding Social Security.  And now they are. And because we did the work of building broad support for all of those ideas across this country, these changes could actually be implemented by the next president.
       
    • A year ago, people weren’t talking about corruption, and they still aren’t talking about it enough – but we’ve moved the needle, and a hunk of our anti-corruption plan is already embedded in a House bill that is ready to go when we get a Democratic Senate.
       
    • We also advocated for fixing our rigged system in a way that will make it work better for everyone – regardless of your race, or gender, or religion, regardless of whether you’re straight or LGBTQ. And that wasn’t an afterthought, it was built into everything we did.  
  • And we did all of this without selling access for money. Together 1.25 million people gave more than $112 million dollars to support this campaign. And we did it without selling one minute of my time to the highest bidder. People said that would be impossible. But you did that.
     
  • And we also did it by having fun and by staying true to ourselves. We ran from the heart. We ran on our values. We ran on treating everyone with respect and dignity. You know liberty green everything was key here —my personal favorites included the liberty green boas, liberty green sneakers, liberty green make up, liberty green hair, and liberty green glitter liberally applied. But it was so much more. Four-hour selfie lines and pinky promises with little girls. And a wedding at one of our town halls.  And we were joyful and positive through all of it. We ran a campaign not to put people down, but to lift them up—and I loved pretty much every minute of it. 
So take some time to be with your friends and family, to get some sleep, maybe to get that haircut you’ve been putting off --  you know who I’m talking about.  Do things to take care of yourselves, gather up your energy, because I know you are coming back.  I know you—and I know that you aren’t ready to leave this fight. 

You know, I used to hate goodbyes.  Whenever I taught my last class or when we moved to a new city, those final goodbyes used to wrench my heart.  But then I realized that there is no goodbye for much of what we do.  When I left one place, I took everything I’d learned before and all the good ideas that were tucked into my brain and all the good friends that were tucked in my heart, and I brought it all forward with me—and it became part of what I did next.  This campaign is no different. I may not be in the race for President in 2020, but this fight—our fight—is not over. And our place in this fight has not ended. 
 
Because for every young person who is drowning in student debt, for every family struggling to pay the bills on two incomes, for every mom worried about paying for prescriptions or putting food on the table, this fight goes on. For every immigrant and African American and Muslim and Jewish person and Latinx and transwoman who sees the rise in attacks on people who look or sound or worship like them, this fight goes on. And for every person alarmed by the speed with which climate change is bearing down upon us, this fight goes on.  And for every American who desperately wants to see our nation healed and some decency and honor restored to our government, this fight goes on. And sure, the fight may take a new form, but I will be in that fight, and I want you in this fight with me. We will persist.
 
One last story. One last story. When I voted yesterday at the elementary school down the street, a mom came up to me. And She said she has two small children, and they have a nightly ritual.  After the kids have brushed teeth and read books and gotten that last sip of water and done all the other bedtime routines, they do one last thing before the two little ones go to sleep. Mama leans over them and whispers, “Dream big.” And the children together reply, “Fight hard.”
 
Our work continues, the fight goes on, and big dreams never die.  

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