'No Sugar Coating It': Sanders to Converse With Supporters and 'Assess' Campaign Following Latest Primary Losses

Following another round of primary losses to Joe Biden in Arizona, Illinois, and Florida on Tuesday, the presidential campaign of Bernie Sanders indicated there will be no immediate exit from the race but said the Vermont senator will be using the time ahead of the next round of voting to speak with his supporters and consider what should come next.

"The next primary contest is three weeks away," said Faiz Shakir, Sanders' campaign manager, in a statement. "Sanders is going to be having conversations with his supporters to assess his campaign."

"In the immediate term," Shakir added, Sanders "is focused on the government response to the coronavirus outbreak and ensuring that we take care of working people and the most vulnerable."

The following is the full text of an email Shakir subsequently sent to the campaign's list of supporters:

No sugarcoating it, last night did not go the way we wanted.

And while our campaign has won the battle of ideas, we are losing the battle over electability to Joe Biden.

So we wanted to give you an update on what is next for Bernie and for our campaign:

First, Bernie will likely have a vote on the coronavirus in the Senate today. He'll take that vote, and you can expect him to continue his fight to ensure we are protecting working people, low-income people, and the most vulnerable communities, not just giant corporations and Wall Street in any response to the virus.

Then after this vote today, Bernie and Jane are going to get on a plane back to Vermont. Once there, they'll begin holding conversations with supporters to get input and assess the path forward for our campaign. We will keep you updated as those conversations progress.

In the meantime, please continue to stay safe, and thank you for everything you've done so far. It means the world to Bernie and Jane.

On Tuesday night, just prior to polls closing in the voting states, Sanders released a detailed new plan--called "An Emergency Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic"--which outlines core principles and specific policy proposals to deal with the ongoing outbreak.

"In this moment of crisis, it is imperative that we stand together," Sanders said.