--- title: Bernie Sanders: Democratic Primary Schedule "Distorts Reality" description: "I think that having so many Southern states go first kind of distorts reality" canonical: https://time.com/4293069/bernie-sanders-says-democratic-primary-schedule-distorts-reality/ author: Sam Frizell article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-04-13T22:43:01.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:41:30.105Z article:section: Politics og:title: Bernie Sanders Says Democratic Primary Schedule 'Distorts Reality' og:description: "I think that having so many Southern states go first kind of distorts reality" og:url: https://time.com/4293069/bernie-sanders-says-democratic-primary-schedule-distorts-reality/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte53daa92907f2617/69888f16cd1bba3eed7003f1/bernie-sanders-wilmore.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: "The Nightly Show With Larry Wilmore" Welcomes Senator Bernie Sanders As Guest On Tuesday, January 5, 2016 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Bernie Sanders Says Democratic Primary Schedule 'Distorts Reality' twitter:description: "I think that having so many Southern states go first kind of distorts reality" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte53daa92907f2617/69888f16cd1bba3eed7003f1/bernie-sanders-wilmore.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Bernie Sanders Says Democratic Primary Schedule 'Distorts Reality' > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=8b1ec841-d9fd-4f71-a40b-29c97bce9699&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Sanders Has 'Doubts' On A Clinton Presidency [Watch (HLS stream): Sanders Has 'Doubts' On A Clinton Presidency](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/yka8rYW9.m3u8) (0:29)  _Published 2016-04-10. Bernie Sanders on Sunday took jabs at Hillary Clinton’s ability to lead the country, saying “something is clearly lacking” in his Democratic presidential rival’s judgment._ by [Sam Frizell](https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Apr 13, 2016 10:43 PM UTC  Senator Bernie Sanders on Comedy Central's "The Nightly Show With Larry Wilmore" on Jan. 5, 2016 in New York City. Senator Bernie Sanders on Comedy Central's "The Nightly Show With Larry Wilmore" on Jan. 5, 2016 in New York City. Bryan Bedder—Getty Images for Comedy Central by [Sam Frizell](https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Apr 13, 2016 10:43 PM UTC Bernie Sanders told “Nightly Show” host Larry Wilmore at a taping Wednesday evening that scheduling Southern states early in the Democratic primary “distorts reality.” Sanders’ remarks came after Wilmore asked him whether he believed the Democratic primary system is “rigged.” “Well, you know,” Sanders said, “people say, ‘Why does Iowa go first, why does New Hampshire go first,’ but I think that having so many Southern states go first kind of distorts reality as well.” Hillary Clinton has overwhelmingly defeated Sanders in Southern primary contests. In South Carolina, the fourth state in the primary, Sanders’ margin of defeat was a landslide 48 points. A few days after that contest, Sanders lost by large margins in Arkansas, Alabama, Texas, Georgia, Virginia on March 1\. Sanders also lost Florida and Mississippi, which vote slightly later that month. Black voters make up a disproportionate share of the Democratic electorate in those Southern states, and constitute a voting bloc in which Sanders has consistently underperformed. The Vermont senator has been more successful in smaller, whiter and more liberal states like Maine, Washington and Minnesota. Sanders has also been able to win a slightly larger portion of black voters in northern states like Michigan and Illinois, exit polls showed. Despite his Southern struggles, Sanders insisted to Wilmore that he can win the Democratic nomination, despite lagging by more than 200 pledged delegates. “Our path is with the math,” the Vermont senator said. “We started off this campaign having to run in the Deep South—” “Trust me, I know about running in the Deep South,” Wilmore interjected. Sanders laughed and continued. “Since we got out of the South we’re doing pretty well,” he said. The senator added that he has a stronger chance to win in more progressive states and convert superdelegates—who are not tied to the popular vote in primary states—to support his candidacy. “When a lot of these so-called superdelegates begin to see which candidate is the strongest candidate” in a general election against Sen. Ted Cruz and Donald Trump, Sanders said, “I think some of these guys are going to be coming our way.” Sanders concluded the taping with a soliloquy on “New York values,” pushing back against Sen. Ted Cruz’s claims about New Yorkers having a focus “on media and money” “That’s right. It’s me, Bernie Brooklyn-born Sanders, and guess what, Ted cruz, I have New York values,” Sanders said. “I value a living wage for all Americans… I value a government that works for all of us not just Wall Street and special interests. Those are New York values.” “When you say having New York values is bad thing, you insult my city, my state and my heritage,” Sanders said “I am the son of an immigrant and I am proud of it.” At the end of the skit, Sanders dropped the microphone. Sanders is in New York campaigning ahead of the April 19 primary, where he is lagging in polls against former secretary of state Hillary Clinton. He has a rally planned in Washington Square Park shortly after the taping. The episode of the Nightly Show will air on Comedy Central on Wednesday night at 11:30pm. ## Transcript What I said is that a candidate, like Secretary Clinton, who voted for the disastrous war in Iraq, who has supported virtually every disastrous trade agreement, which has cost us millions of decent paying jobs, and who receives incredible amounts of money. We're talking about tens of millions of dollars through a super pact From every special interest that you can think of from the billionaire class. 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