I deeply appreciate the expression of strong support from the voters of Vermont and wish to congratulate Senator Kennedy and his campaign organization on their victory in Massachusetts.
Dedicated, hard-working volunteers are always important in any political campaign. While I am remaining in Washington to manage the Nation's affairs, they are doubly important. And I wish to thank the hundreds of volunteers who supported me in both States. I especially appreciate the hard work of my many supporters in Massachusetts, who did an outstanding job under difficult circumstances.
All those citizens of both States, of both parties, who exercised their right to vote demonstrated their faith in the system of representative democracy, which is the strength of our Nation and the hope of the world.
Next week a total of 418 delegates will be at stake in political contests in 10 States over the country—Alabama, Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Washington, and Wyoming. These important political contests will continue to provide an opportunity for this Nation's voters to express their views on the type of leadership they want for the next 4 years, and I look forward to those tests.
Jimmy Carter, Massachusetts and Vermont Democratic Party Primaries Statement by the President. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/249853