Bernie Sanders speaks during a rally at Purdue University in Indiana on April 27. | AP Photo Sanders scales back Indiana spending

Bernie Sanders’ campaign is scaling back its television ad reservation in Indiana — the next battleground in the Democratic primary process — one day after his campaign shed hundreds of staffers in its first significant cutback.

The move will cut roughly $200,000 from his initial buy of $1.2 million, according to a senior Sanders aide who confirmed the shift. Trailing Hillary Clinton by wide margins, Sanders is focusing increasingly on mounting a stand in California and the large states left to vote on the calendar as he looks to pick up delegates before July’s Democratic convention.


Clinton’s campaign is currently not spending any money on advertising in Indiana or any of the states left on the calendar, as the former secretary of state moves closer to a full-on general election pivot. The Sanders aide said the campaign's ad cut came after it calculated that it wouldn't need the full buy, given Clinton's lack of spending there.

Indiana, with 83 delegates at stake on May 3, is likely to be a tight contest between Clinton and Sanders. The front-runner has appeared there and sent her husband and daughter in to campaign, but Sanders has made a more intense pitch to the state, including hosting two rallies there on Wednesday. Still, even if Sanders pulled out a close win it would likely not help his delegate case much, as he trails by more than 300 delegates overall.

While Sanders has raised large amounts of money online, he has also spent money at a rapid pace, including $46 million in March. It is not clear how much cash on hand he currently has, though the campaign reported having $17 million to begin the month.

While Sanders’ team publicly insists he is still competing to win the nomination, his path is all but sealed off, and his campaign has started planning for a role influencing the future of the party and its platform.