Sanders: 'It doesn't appear that I'm going to be the nominee'

Sen. Bernie Sanders acknowledged Wednesday that his chances of becoming the Democratic nominee for president aren't ideal.

"It doesn't appear that I'm going to be the nominee, so I'm not going to be determining the scope of the convention," Sanders said during an interview with C-SPAN. The comment came in response to a question about his preparations for the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia in late July.


The comment is notable because the Vermont senator has refused to formally drop out of the Democratic presidential primary and instead has vowed to push his policy agenda at the convention. Sanders' comments suggest that despite the fact that he's signaled he plans to use his 1,879 delegates to wring concessions from Hillary Clinton and her supporters in Philadelphia, he understands that his leverage may ultimately prove limited.

Sanders said he remains determined, however, to press for reforms to the party's nominating process: above all, to change the superdelegate system that has given Clinton an unassailable advantage among elected officials and other party insiders.

"They should reflect the votes of the people in their states. We have won states with 70, 80 percent of the vote where superdelegates are going to vote for my opponent," Sanders said. "That's not terribly democratic."