Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) said Monday that he had forced Hillary Clinton to the left on numerous policies with his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination.
"You do not believe that the Clinton campaign has said in any compelling way that they have what that group of voters, who's hashtag 'Feeling The Bern,' that they have the solutions for those people's problems?" CNN host Chris Cuomo asked.
"No, I really don't think they have," Sanders said. "They're very good at rhetoric, and certainly she has moved to the left in this campaign in response to many of the initiatives that we have brought forth ... I think the average person understands when you collect such large sums of money from Wall Street and other special interests, they have their doubts as to whether the Clinton people will stand up to these powerful forces."
Indeed, on such issues as the Keystone Pipeline, the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the minimum wage, Clinton has backed away or reversed herself on older positions to try and out-flank Sanders' populist message. She has also tried to position herself as to the left of Sanders on abortion and gun control, even though the Vermont senator holds heavily pro-choice and pro-gun control voting records.
As he often reminds supporters on the campaign trail, Sanders began his candidacy with low name recognition and in the single digits in the polls. He has mounted a surprisingly sturdy challenge to Clinton's frontrunner status, although he is far behind in the delegate count.
The critical New York primary is Tuesday, where Clinton leads by 10 points in a new CBS poll.