PHILADELPHIA — Hillary Clinton is set to become the first female presidential nominee on Tuesday, but her historic achievement could be clouded by a significant faction of liberal Democrats who are still clamoring for socialist Bernie Sanders to head the party ticket in November.
The Democratic National Convention convenes at 4 p.m., when party officials will conduct a roll call of the states that will crown Clinton the winner. But rather than showcasing a celebration for Clinton, the convention floor could end up displaying the deep divide between the Sanders and Clinton delegates.
Pro-Clinton delegates predict the Sanders faction will soon rally behind her, despite the discontent they have displayed so far at the convention.
“It’s their last swan song,” Jimmie Woods-Gray, a California delegate, told the Washington Examiner. “When you’ve fought a good fight and you’ve lost, it’s hard. But I think that they understand that the race is over and they will support Hillary. I believe they will do that. She is the best candidate to carry their message to the world.”
But many Sanders delegates are not ready to give up trying to win the nomination, and are still rejecting a primary process that many of them believe was skewed in favor of Clinton.
Sanders supporters told the Washington Examiner that Sanders, in his floor speech Monday, fueled their determination to resist surrendering.
“I look forward to your votes during the roll call tomorrow night!” Sanders told his supporters, who throughout Monday’s convention proceedings booed any mention of Clinton.
Sanders delegates told the Examiner they believe their candidate was sending them a signal to not give up the effort to nominate him.
“It’s going to be powerful,” predicted Nebraska delegate Edgar DeLeon. “The American people are going to see the presence Bernie Sanders camp has had here until the end.”
The Sanders faction will be up against one of the great unifiers of the Democratic Party later Tuesday when Clinton’s husband, former President Bill Clinton, delivers the keynote address. He’s expected to deliver a speech that will attempt to reconcile the warring factions who once rallied behind him unison two decades ago.
Clinton has played the role of savior in past elections. He swooped into the 2012 Democratic convention in Charlotte, N.C., to help resuscitate a flagging Obama campaign dragged down by the struggling economy.
But Clinton is also known for unscripted lines and impromptu actions that have caused headaches for his wife’s campaign. Earlier this month, he was criticized by both parties for holding a private meeting aboard the private plane of Attorney General Loretta Lynch, who was overseeing an FBI investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server while serving as Secretary of State.
Democratic strategist Doug Schoen said the former president will pull the party together in his Tuesday address.
“I believe he will attempt to both unify the party and stake out a vision for the future,” Schoen said.
