LOS ANGELES – Bernie Sanders said Tuesday he was “really disappointed” and “upset” that The Associated Press declared rival Hillary Clinton the presumptive Democratic nominee on the eve of primary elections in six states, adding a somewhat muted voice to the outrage expressed by many of his supporters.
In an interview with NBC News, Sanders expressed concern that the news of Clinton’s victory came the night before “the largest primary” and that it was based on what he described as “anonymous” commitments from superdelegates – the party insiders and Democratic officials who can vote for the candidate of their choice at the summer convention.
“They got on the phone as I understand it, and started hounding superdelegates to tell them in an anonymous way who they were voting for. The night before the largest primary, biggest primary in the whole process, they make this announcement,” he said. “So I was really disappointed in what The AP did.”
The AP’s delegate count is based on pledged delegates won in primaries and caucuses, as well as a survey of superdelegates. The AP only included superdelegates in its tally if they said they would unequivocally vote for Clinton or Sanders at the convention.
According to the AP’s count, Clinton secured the commitments of enough delegates to become the presumptive nominee on Monday night, the day before primary elections in California, New Jersey and four other states.