Bernie Sanders Not Deterred After Hillary Clinton Reaches Number of Delegates to Clinch Democratic Nomination

Hillary Clinton secured the 2,383 delegates necessary to clinch the nomination on Monday

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Don’t count Bernie Sanders out yet.

Although Hillary Clinton reached the 2,383 delegates necessary to secure her party’s nod for the general election on Monday, Sanders believes the media has been quick to name her the Democratic Party’s presumptive nominee before superdelegates cast their votes.

Superdelegates, elected officials and other notable party figures who back the candidate they believe will win the general election, do not vote until the Democratic convention in July and could be swayed to switch sides.

“It is unfortunate that the media, in a rush to judgement, are ignoring the Democratic National Committee’s clear statement that it is wrong to count the votes of superdelegates before they actually vote at the convention this summer,” spokesman Michael Briggs said in a statement.

“Secretary Clinton does not have and will not have the requisite number of pledged delegates to secure the nomination. She will be dependent on superdelegates who do not vote until July 25 and who can change their minds between now and then,” he said, adding “Our job from now until the convention is to convince those superdelegates that Bernie is by far the strongest candidate against Donald Trump.”

Estimates show Clinton currently has 1,812 pledged delegates and 571 superdelegates while Sanders has 1,522 pledged delegates and 48 superdelegates, according to ABC News.

Sanders hopes to sway superdelegates by convincing them that he will perform better against presumptive Republican nominee Trump in head-to-head contests.

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Clinton’s campaign remained humble following the news, reminding voters to still head to the polls Tuesday for primaries.

“This is an important milestone, but there are six states that are voting Tuesday, with millions of people heading to the polls, and Hillary Clinton is working to earn every vote,” campaign manager Robby Mook said in a statement. “We look forward to Tuesday night, when Hillary Clinton will clinch not only a win in the popular vote, but also the majority of pledged delegates.”

Voters in six states – California, New Jersey, New Mexico, Montana, South Dakota and North Dakota – vote on Tuesday. California is the main state to watch as it’s the biggest delegate prize on both sides.

According to the Washington Post, Sanders stated that he will return to his home in Burlington, Vermont following Tuesday’s vote to “assess” the campaign in response to a question on if he would endorse Clinton in coming weeks. However, he made it clear that he was not ready to call it quits yet, sharing that he is in private talks with superdelegates.

“The issue is who is the better candidate to become president of the United States and to defeat Trump,” Sanders said. “Our goal is to get as many delegates as we possibly can and to make the case to superdelegates.”