Sanders Campaign Shocked by How Fast Moderates Rallied Around Joe Biden

Following former Vice President Joe Biden’s win in the South Carolina Democratic primary, Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-Vt.) campaign figured it was only a matter of time until the moderate wing of the party consolidated behind him.

What the Sanders team did not expect was the speed with which Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (Minn.) would drop out and endorse the former vice president. 

Faiz Shakir, Sanders’ campaign manager, told The New York Times in an interview on Monday that the campaign “always anticipated that there would be consolidation of an establishment side.”

However, he said, “It’s one thing to know it’s going to happen, and it’s another thing to watch it happen so very quickly.”

He added:

“Because of the swiftness with which it moved, it’s becoming clear that in order for us to win this nomination, that road clearly flows through 👤Joe Biden.”

As it became clear the moderate wing of the party was working to block Sanders, his campaign began to shift its attention to Biden as it realized the field had whittled down to essentially a two-man race.