Joe Biden Joe BidenBiden leads Trump by 36 points nationally among Latinos: poll GOP set to release controversial Biden report Can Donald Trump maintain new momentum until this November? MORE is allowing Sen. Bernie Sanders Bernie SandersNYT editorial board remembers Ginsburg: She 'will forever have two legacies' Two GOP governors urge Republicans to hold off on Supreme Court nominee Sanders knocks McConnell: He's going against Ginsburg's 'dying wishes' MORE (I-Vt.) to keep the delegates his presidential campaign has won thus far as the former vice president works to avoid dividing the Democratic Party’s base.

Sanders, who suspended his presidential campaign last week, would normally be forced to forfeit a third of the delegates he’s garnered to Biden under a strict interpretation of Democratic Party rules.

However, behind-the-scenes negotiations have been ongoing between the Biden and Sanders campaigns to allow the Vermont lawmaker to keep his delegates as a gesture of goodwill, though it is still not settled how many Sanders would be able to keep.

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“We feel strongly that it is in the best interest of the party to ensure that the Sanders campaign receives statewide delegates to reflect the work that they have done to contribute to the movement that will beat Donald Trump Donald John TrumpBiden leads Trump by 36 points nationally among Latinos: poll Trump dismisses climate change role in fires, says Newsom needs to manage forest better Jimmy Kimmel hits Trump for rallies while hosting Emmy Awards MORE this fall,” a Biden official told The Hill. “We are in discussion with them now on how to best accomplish that.”



The news was first reported by The Associated Press.

The number of delegates each candidate has is ultimately inconsequential for the nomination, as Biden has essentially locked up his spot atop the Democratic 2020 ticket. However, Sanders has said he will remain on upcoming primary ballots to garner more delegates who can ultimately sway the party’s platform during the summer’s convention.

Biden is also eager to try to unite the Democratic Party base around his White House bid and try to avoid the vicious divides that plagued Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonBiden leads Trump by 36 points nationally among Latinos: poll Democratic super PAC to hit Trump in battleground states over coronavirus deaths Battle lines drawn on precedent in Supreme Court fight MORE in 2016. Sanders delegates infamously booed some speakers during mentions of Clinton at that year’s convention, an embarrassing optic the former vice president is hopeful he can avoid.

Biden will technically need to garner 1,991 delegates to clinch the nomination, and leads Sanders by more than 300 delegates.

Candidates' total delegate hauls are split between those allocated by congressional district and those based on statewide results. To keep the statewide delegates, candidates must still be running for president when the people who will represent them at the convention are selected by states.

Most states have yet to select the people who will attend the convention as delegates.

Under the rules, Biden would normally get 346 of the delegates won by Sanders, Sen. Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth WarrenGOP set to release controversial Biden report Biden's fiscal program: What is the likely market impact? Warren, Schumer introduce plan for next president to cancel ,000 in student debt MORE (D-Mass.), former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg Pete ButtigiegBipartisan praise pours in after Ginsburg's death Bogeymen of the far left deserve a place in any Biden administration Overnight Defense: Woodward book causes new firestorm | Book says Trump lashed out at generals, told Woodward about secret weapons system | US withdrawing thousands of troops from Iraq MORE and Sen. Amy Klobuchar Amy KlobucharBattle lines drawn on precedent in Supreme Court fight Sunday shows - Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death dominates Klobuchar: GOP can't use 'raw political power right in middle of an election' MORE (D-Minn.). Sanders’s delegate count would drop to 628, according to an AP analysis.