Bernie Sanders may finally endorse Hillary Clinton at a joint event in New Hampshire next week, following weeks of refusing to default to her even after she clinched the delegates needed for the nomination.
Although the event is not yet set in stone, the report explained that Sanders would appear alongside Clinton next Tuesday during the joint campaign rally. When asked about the event, one Sanders staffer, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Washington Examiner that “there are conversations happening at the highest level of the campaign” about this event, but they could not confirm any details about the event. A member of the Clinton campaign similarly responded that no details were available.
Sanders has refused to drop out of the primary, even though he acknowledged he will not be the nominee, as he attempts to push his progressive agenda on the party platform and have Clinton incorporate some of his ideas. Although the first draft of the platform does not do so, Clinton gave the Vermont senator one concession, announcing that she was including elements of his higher education plan in her own. Sanders applauded Clinton’s policy shift as a welcome change and a step in the right direction. As the two work toward party unity, Sanders said he hopes to find more areas of agreement with Clinton “sooner rather than later.”
The Vermont senator beat Clinton by more than 20 points in the February New Hampshire primary (61 percent-38 percent), so holding the event in the Granite State could help foster party unity and ensure that Democrats turn out at the polls on Election Day. General election matchup polls show that Clinton and Trump are running a tight race in New Hampshire, so Sanders’ endorsement could have a big impact.
