Less than three hours after Hillary Clinton was declared the winner of the South Carolina primary by nearly 50 points, Bernie Sanders was back on the campaign trail, seemingly eager to put the loss behind him.

Instead of speaking in South Carolina, Sanders was en route to Rochester, Minnesota for a campaign rally. He issued a statement congratulating Clinton on her victory, but saying also, "This campaign is just beginning." And when he arrived in Minnesota, he addressed the primary results just briefly -- to the reporters who had traveled on the plane with him.

"In politics on a given night sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Tonight we lost. I congratulate Secretary Clinton on her very strong victory. Tuesday over 800 delegates are at stake and we intend to win many, many of them. Thank you very much," he said.

Then it was onto his supporters gathered in Minnesota, where he talked about the minimum wage, the need for criminal justice reform and his decision not to have a super PAC - anything but his loss in South Carolina. He took a few minutes to talk about his differences with Clinton, but not her big win that night.

When he invited supporters to yell out the average donation he receives ($27), he was delighted.

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"There's no way we're going to lose Minnesota. I can see that," he said. "You are just too smart."

CBS News Digital Political Reporter Kylie Atwood contributed to this story.