Democrat Bernie Sanders cranked up his fight with his party's leaders on Sunday, backing a challenger to the Democratic National Committee's chairwoman and accusing the party establishment of trying to anoint Hillary Clinton as the presidential nominee.

In a series of television interviews, Sanders remained defiant despite what he acknowledged was an uphill fight to overtake front-runner Clinton.

He told ABC's "This Week" program that Americans should not have to choose between "the lesser of two evils" in the Nov. 8 election against presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump.