Bernie Sanders will not go quietly:
According to the current state count, Hillary Clinton leads Sanders by about one-half of one percent of the total vote, or just shy of 2,000 votes out of the roughly 455,000 that were cast in the primary earlier this month. Given how tight the contest was, the Associated Press has not yet called an official winner. Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes—a Clinton supporter—though, declared Hillary the “unofficial” victor on primary night, which gave the Democratic front-runner a helpful narrative counterweight to Sanders’ double-digit win in Oregon that same night.
In a specific delegate sense, the request for a recanvass—which is a step short of a full recount—doesn’t really matter, since Democrats divvy their delegates up proportionally. Based on the existing vote totals, the AP projects Kentucky will split its 55 pledged delegates nearly down the middle. (The current estimate has each candidate winning 27, with one yet to be assigned.) Even if state officials find enough votes to give Bernie the statewide win, it could net him another delegate or two, but it won’t change the fact that the nomination is out of reach and has been for some time.
Still, in a larger since it does matter. It’s a not-so-subtle rebuke of the state Democratic establishment (and a Clinton ally), and yet another unmistakable sign that Sanders is serious about staying in this race to the very end of the primary season, and possibly beyond. This man will not go quietly.
