Last night was a big setback for Bernie Sanders. I thought there were reasons to be optimistic, but there’s no getting around this result. While the Vermont senator didn’t lose his home state and he managed to score an impressive victory in delegate-rich California, the overall picture was grim. Sanders won a total of four of the fourteen states up for grabs.

The establishment’s dramatic, overnight consolidation behind Biden was a sign of desperation — a last-ditch, coordinated attempt to stop Bernie Sanders from gaining an insurmountable lead on Super Tuesday — but it worked. And it should be disturbing that, even after Michael Bloomberg supplied the last missing piece of the establishment consolidation by dropping out this morning, there’s been no similar consolidation in what pundits often call the “progressive lane” of the race.

Even so, Sanders supporters shouldn’t get discouraged. The path to victory is longer than it would have been if Super Tuesday had gone differently, but it’s still there. Even after last night’s setback, Bernie is only forty-five delegates behind Biden — with thousands still up for grabs.