Wow. I am absolutely floored. We delivered nearly every congressional district in California for Senator Bernard Sanders, our next president of the United States!! This is not just a win for him, or for us. It’s a win for people all over the country, and the world. Old, young, and those yet to be born. They all needed us to step up and make California happen for Bernie, and we did! Say thank you to yourselves. Give yourselves a big hug, take a few days, and then it’s eyes back on the prize!
*results as of 3/6/20 7pm **Check updates for delegate allocations here
Remember, early voting skews heavily in favor for Biden. As of today, the Secretary of State reports that there are 3,247,283 unprocessed ballots throughout California counties. Despite long lines at college campus and low income neighborhood voting locations, these last minute votes will help us tremendously. As our friend State Assembly member Ash Kalra reminded us, “We’re not always on time, but when we do show up, WE SHOW UP BIG”. So be on the lookout for the delegate numbers from California to get even better for Bernie as results come in.
Make no mistake, these wins don’t come out of nowhere. There are many aspects of a campaign of course, whether its TV ads, debate performance, internet and social media presence, or endorsements; but Bernie’s campaign is the only one that invests into field as its primary function. No other campaign values volunteers the way we do, and the results are proof of your effectiveness. I’m sure many of you had the experience of talking to a voter who liked Bernie, but didn’t know about registration specifics, or when or where to vote. Our efforts won San Jose, Santa Clara and delegates up and down California.
*results as of 3/6/20 7pm **107k votes yet to be counted, check updates for Santa Clara County here
Consider where we were in 2016; Sen. Sanders had nowhere near the momentum or delegates he has now at this point in the primary, and still made it within striking distance of the nomination. While I know that we all would have liked to see a stronger showing this past Tuesday, there are three important points I’d like us all to remember:
-In terms of delegate math, we’re at half-time, and essentially tied. 1,397 delegates have been awarded (with 255 yet to be allocated from Super Tuesday states) of the available 3,979 pledged delegates. Bernie trails Biden’s 664 delegates by a less than a hundred, with 573. There is a clear path to victory for us. We can absolutely win the 1,991 delegates to secure the nomination before the convention in July.
-Six months ago, the mainstream media narrative was touting Warren as the frontrunner. A month ago, it was Buttigieg; 2 weeks ago, Biden was dead in the water and Bloomberg’s money posed a serious threat to our movement and Democracy in general. The point is that campaigns are unpredictable and things can, and do, change at the drop of a hat. The next debate will be between Bernie and Biden, and Biden historically does not do well in the spotlight. The scenario that positions Bernie as the undeniable front runner is just over the horizon.
-Keep the faith! Bernie has been fighting this fight for literally decades, and suffered losses himself, but never gave up. Nobody ever thought this was going to be easy, right? The media will continue the narrative that discounts us entirely. Don’t listen to the noise. Just keep doing the work, and we will win.
The Bay Area Team is redeploying to New York, we’ll be there by Thursday, and we’re counting on you to help us. At this point you have all been trained, and have a ton of experience persuading people to join the revolution, motivating them to vote, and even to become volunteers themselves! Your experience and dedication is immensely valuable and you are needed if we want to win the nomination.
Organize phonebanks and get on the dialer! There is nothing more important than talking to voters in critical upcoming states like Michigan and Washington
^A few of our wonderful staff and stellar volunteers processing ballots after the rally
^Just a few of our final canvasses!
This will likely be my last email for a while, but I will stay in touch and keep everyone updated as best as I can. Once again, thank you for all your hard work. It has been a true pleasure and honor working alongside everyone. We have proved the establishment wrong, built a real movement, and cleared a path to victory and brighter future for all!
With the deepest of gratitude,
Erik and the South Bay Team- Aidan, Ivan, Fayzan and Cruz