Sanders calls for delaying Wisconsin primary because of coronavirus

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Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is calling on Wisconsin to delay its upcoming primary due to the coronavirus pandemic and allow residents to vote by mail.

Wisconsin is currently scheduled to hold its primary election on April 7. Meanwhile, President Trump has recommended that Americans continue social distancing practices at least through the end of the month. Other states have already postponed their primaries.

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“People should not be forced to put their lives on the line to vote, which is why 15 states are now following the advice of public health experts and delaying their elections. We urge Wisconsin to join them,” the senator from Vermont said in a statement. “The state should delay Tuesday’s vote, extend early voting and work to move entirely to vote-by-mail. While we wait for a decision, we urge our supporters to vote-by-mail.”

Sanders currently trails former vice president Joe Biden in the Democratic race with 914 delegates to Biden’s 1,217. Either of them would need to secure 1,991 delegates before the Democratic National Convention to secure the party’s nomination on the first ballot.

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Sanders offered some insight into how the outbreak has affected him and his campaign during an appearance ABC’s “The View” Wednesday.

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“It's very difficult to me, but it's difficult to everybody in the country and most of the people around,” he said. “I'll give you an example. I just heard literally two minutes ago that someone who was working on my campaign was terribly ill, on the ventilator. Good news is she's out right now and she's healthy. On the other hand, somebody else on the campaign passed away a couple of days ago. I think we all have to take a deep breath and appreciate we are living in an unprecedented moment in American history.”

Fox News' Andrew Craft contributed to this report.