Bernie Sanders spoke at a rally in California on Sunday and stated he will not accept defeat until the convention in July. The California and New Jersey primaries are being held on June 7. Sanders is behind Hillary Clinton, who is the Democratic frontrunner and needs only 73 more delegates to clinch the Democratic nomination.
Sanders will not concede from the race until the superdelegates vote later this summer.
Clinton’s lead is inflated due to the high count of superdelegates, which have the right to switch their vote at any time in the race. Sanders has feverishly campaigned in California, which has 475 pledged delegates up for grabs. A total of six states will hold primaries next week.
Protestors attempted to disrupt Sander’s rally. The candidate was confronted by animal rights protesters, who rushed the stage. “We don’t get intimidated easily,” said Sanders following the removal of the protestors.
The statistics from a rally in Oakland suggest there were 20,000 people in attendance at the rally, with over 60,000 people in total and many people in overflow areas.
Sanders has spent much of his time campaigning in California in recent weeks. A landslide win would result in a large portion of the 475 pledged delegates that are at stake.