WASHINGTON: Democratic Presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders, who could not match up to the charms of fellow Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, finally shoot hands with Clinton after bowing out of the last primary in Washington DC, where he lost 21-79.
After the conclusion of the Washington DC primaries, Clinton won over 400 more pledged delegates than Sanders and around 15 million votes which was 3.5 million more than the 74-year old Vermont senator. While Bernie said he would continue to fight until the party convention on July 25 in Philadelphia, both the Democrat leaders agree on a single agenda, push Trump out of the race. While official announcements are pending, Sanders is most likely to endorse Clinton, but only after the convention. She, in return, will hopefully take on board demands like universal health care or a federal $15-an-hour minimum wage.
However, it will be a tough task for Bernie to convince his followers who want him to run as an independent, showing Clinton as the "quintessential establishment candidate" who is in favour of neoliberal policies that affect the poor. A recently conducted poll said if Sanders runs as a third candidate in November, he would get 18 per cent of the votes and Trump would defeat Clinton. The fight no longer remains between two parties, and has turned into more of a fight against the Republican billionaire.
After a long time convincing people why they shouldn't vote for Clinton, Sanders will now have to change his campaign, convince his supporters to set aside their dislike for Clinton and focus on the long run.
