Bernie Sanders Says It's Premature for Clinton to Talk Reconciliation

By MaryAlice Parks

Mar 8, 2016, 8:25 PM ET

Hillary Clinton spoke twice yesterday about how Bernie Sanders is an ally and how she hoped to enlist his supporters in her fight for the White House.

Sanders told ABC News that language was “premature.”

“Well, given the fact that during the last weekend we just won three landslide caucus victories -- we now have eight victories -- and we see the possibility of major victories coming in front of us in the weeks, months ahead. I think it’s a little bit premature,” Sanders told ABC News’ David Wright.

Then the determined underdog candidate went a step further. “We’re running for president we think we have a path toward the White House and if we win it, we look forward very much to have Secretary Clinton’s support,” he continued.

According to ABC News’ most recent estimate, Clinton has racked up 673 pledged delegates award from primaries and caucuses, compared to Sanders’ 477. However, when super delegates are included in the calculation, Clinton’s lead jumps to 1,134 compared to 502, meaning that Clinton is well on her way to securing the 2,383 delegates needed to claim the Democratic Party’s nomination.

The Sanders campaign has argued that super delegates would switch allegiances, however, to back the will of the voters should he pull ahead in the popular vote. In order to hit the magic number using only pledged delegates, no super delegates at all, Clinton will need to win 59-41% in the rest of the states.

When asked about the math and his upward climb to the nomination, Sanders argued that many large states like California and New York had not yet voted. “I think in all due respect, media might want to pay more attention to the issues impacting American people than worrying about, speculating about what may happen,” he said.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/bernie-sanders-premature-clinton-talk-reconciliation/story?id=37504358