Sanders says Democratic leaders may "rethink" support after recent victories

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - After accumulating victories in Democratic primaries this weekend in three US states, the presidential candidate Bernie Sanders said on Sunday it won a political momentum that can help you get the support of leaders party in the dispute against the opposing Hillary Clinton.

Sanders won easily in Alaska, Washington and Hawaii on Saturday, and his most recent comments are intended to wear Clinton, who still has good advantage in the number of party delegates needed to secure the Democratic nomination and compete in the presidential election on 8 from November.

Interviewed Sunday by several US television networks, Sanders said "superdelegates" Democrats, who have no obligation to vote according to the results of previous, may feel pressured to endorse it because most opinion polls indicate he is most likely to defeat a republican candidate than the former first lady.

"The momentum is with us," said Sanders, Senator from Vermont, the State of the Union program on CNN. "Many of these superdelegates may rethink their position on Hillary Clinton."

Sanders also criticized the dependence of Hillary wealthy donors to fund his campaign. He cited a fundraising dinner that will be chaired by actor George Clooney in the month in which the supporters have to donate at least $ 33,400 to attend, or $ 353,400, nearly seven times the average annual income of the country, if they want chairs " premium ".

"It is obscene that the (former) Secretary (of State Hillary) Clinton keep looking the wealthy to finance his campaign," said Sanders told CNN. "(In) our events, we charge 15 or $ 50 people. So it's not a criticism of Clooney. It is a critique of a corrupt financial system."

About 85 percent of the votes of the Democratic National Convention, which will take place between 25 and 28 July in the state of Philadelphia and will choose the official party candidate, are determined by state primaries.

The other 15 percent will be in the hands of the great figures of legend who are free to vote as they wish, which means they can be decisive in a close fight. Among the superdelegates ago party leaders, elected senators, members of Congress and governors.

After the votes on Saturday, Clinton has little more than 300 delegates more than Sanders - are needed 2,832 to be indicated.

Adding to this the support of superdelegates, the party created in early 1980 to give leaders more control of the nomination process, Clinton had 1,712 delegates, and Sanders, 1004, according to an estimate of the analysis site RealClearPolitics.com.

Senator must win by two-thirds of the remaining delegates to reach Clinton, who will continue to add delegates even get lost in the previous due to the rules of the Democratic Party system, which distributes them proportionally in all states.