Bernie Sanders wins Utah and Idaho after admitting he is half-surprised to still be in the running

The Vermont Senator told talk show host Jimmy Kimmel ‘yes and no’ when asked if he was surprised to 'still be here'

Mr Sanders strikes a strong chord among progressives (AP)

Bernie Sanders admitted surprise to still being a contender for the White House, shortly before he went on to win the votes of Idaho and Utah in the latest round of primaries.

Speaking on the "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" talk show, he was asked whether he thought he would still be in the race by March this year.

“Yes and no,” Mr Sanders said. “I thought the message that we had that there’s something wrong when the middle class in this country is disappearing, people are working longer hours for lower wages, we have so much poverty, almost all the new income and wealth is going to the top 1 per cent, I did know that that was a message that would resonate.”

Mr Sanders, who swept to victory in two out of three states up for grabs this week, added that Americans would also be angry about a “corrupt” campaign finance system.

The Vermont Senator was speaking on the show before the voting results were known.

He lost out on the major state of Tuesday night - Arizona - to his rival Hillary Clinton, but he won 80 per cent of the vote in Utah and 78 per cent in Idaho.

As Ted Cruz and Donald Trump continue to throw mud and speculate about each other’s wives, Mr Sanders told the talk show host: “What I have tried to do in this campaign is focus on the real issues impacting the American people. … We have been very careful about not attacking Secretary Clinton in a personal way. Other people do that. We have not.”

Mr Sanders did elaborate, however, on his rival’s Wall Street ties during the interview.

Commentators have shared their view that Mr Sanders needs to “win big” in the Wisconsin primary on 5 April to make a dent in Ms Clinton’s campaign.