The Slatest

Bernie Sanders’ Campaign Is Laying Off Hundreds of Staffers

Bernie Sanders in Huntington, West Virginia, on Tuesday.

John Sommers II/Getty Images

On Tuesday a top Bernie Sanders aide said the candidate would “reassess” his campaign after the outcome of the day’s five primaries. Then Sanders lost four of those five contests, giving up even more ground to Hillary Clinton in the Democratic delegate race. On Wednesday, the other shoe fell: Sanders tells the New York Times he’s laying off “hundreds” of staffers in states that have already voted in order to focus resources on the June 7 primary in California, an indication the campaign believes it’s better off making a last-chance push in that state than it is retaining national staff for potential use in the general election. From the Times:

“It will be hundreds of staff members,” Mr. Sanders said. “We have had a very large staff, which was designed to deal with 50 states in this country; 40 of the states are now behind us. So we have had a great staff, great people.”

He added that he hoped to work with the people his campaign is letting go in the future.

“If we win this, every one of those great people who have helped us get this far, they will be rehired,” Mr. Sanders said. “But right now, we have to use all of the resources we have and focus them on the remaining states.”

Sanders would need to win 70 percent of remaining delegates in order to pass Clinton before the Democratic convention. While that task is essentially impossible given that the Democrats do not hold winner-take-all primaries, Sanders has said he believes he should continue campaigning in order to give Democratic voters in every state a voice in the nominating process.

Read more Slate coverage of the Democratic primary.