On the day Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement and left a seat for Republicans to fill, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) said, "in many ways we did win the [2016] election."
In 2016, Sanders ran in the Democratic Party's presidential primary and lost to Hillary Clinton, whom he endorsed despite painting her as a corrupt member of the political establishment. Clinton then lost to Donald Trump, but Sanders expressed positivity at a book party event Thursday.
Bernie Sanders at a book party in DC says "in many ways we did win the election." pic.twitter.com/dPeJwsnIMo
— Annie Linskey (@AnnieLinskey) June 27, 2018
The argument Democrats "won" an election resulting in a Republican House, Senate, and White House appeared not to convince attendees.
Sanders pointed to Senate Democrats' embrace of Medicare-for-all, a move that shows the leftward lurch the party has taken over the last few years.
Sixteen Democrats cosponsored a universal Medicare bill this year. Zero did a few years ago.
Sanders also pointed to primaries in New York and Virginia where far-left candidates won their primaries.
The winner of New York's 11th Congressional District Democratic primary is a 28-year-old female socialist who beat out one of the top Democrats in the House. That candidate, Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, is running on a platform of abolishing ICE, Medicare-for-all, a right to housing, and a federal jobs guarantee.