Moderate Democrats are increasingly worried that Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., will walk away from Super Tuesday with an “insurmountable” delegate lead.
Mike Bloomberg, who was eviscerated at Wednesday’s debate, is warning that other moderates, who actually have delegates, should stop siphoning votes away from him, Axios reports.
"If Biden, Buttigieg, and Klobuchar remain in the race despite having no path to appreciably collecting delegates on Super Tuesday (and beyond), they will propel Sanders to a seemingly insurmountable delegate lead by siphoning votes away from [Bloomberg],” a Bloomberg campaign memo said.
"The fact is if the state of this race remains status quo — with Biden, Pete and Amy in the race on Super Tuesday — Bernie is likely to open up a delegate lead that seems nearly impossible to overcome,” said top Bloomberg strategist Kevin Sheekey. "I don’t think many people understand the dire circumstances here."
Buttigieg sounds the alarm too:
“Democrats could end up coming out of Super Tuesday with Bernie Sanders holding a seemingly insurmountable delegate lead,” a Buttigieg campaign memo said on Thursday. “In order to stop this outcome, a viable alternative to Sanders needed to emerge.”
Like Bloomberg, Buttigieg is urging other moderates to clear the field so the vote doesn’t continue to split between two to four candidates trying to compete with Sanders.
"If Bloomberg remains in the race despite showing he can not offer a viable alternative to Bernie Sanders, he will propel Sanders to a seemingly insurmountable delegate lead siphoning votes away from Pete, the current leader in delegates," Buttigieg's campaign said.
Bloomberg helping Bernie more than he’s hurting:
“Mike Bloomberg came here to consolidate the anti-Bernie Sanders vote, but he may have ended up fracturing it further while reviving the campaign of another progressive rival, Elizabeth Warren, by being her perfect foil,” NBC News’ Alex Seitz-Wald said after Wednesday’s debate.
"If Bloomberg hadn't entered the race, there would be one fewer candidate in the crowded moderate lane of the 2020 Democratic contest and the others might have spent the critical time between Iowa and Super Tuesday, now less than two weeks away, sorting themselves out instead of waiting to see Bloomberg in action," he added.
