Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton called for Washington D.C. to be made the 51st state in America, pledging that she will be a “vocal champion for D.C. statehood” if elected.
“In the case of our nation’s capital, we have an entire populace that is routinely denied a voice in its own democracy,” Clinton wrote in an op-ed in the Washington Informer, a weekly African-American newspaper, on Wednesday. “Washington, D.C., is home to nearly 700,000 Americans — more than the entire population of several states. Washingtonians serve in the military, serve on juries and pay taxes just like everyone else.”
She added, “Hard as it is to believe, America is the only democracy on the planet that treats the residents of capital this way.”
While Clinton has supported D.C. statehood in the past, most notably supporting the 2007 D.C. Voting Rights Act, this is the first time she’s framed it as a campaign issue. Democrats in the District of Columbia don’t head to the polls until June 14, the very last primary.
Clinton also blasted Donald Trump for not having a stance on whether or not D.C. residents should have the same voting rights and representation as the rest of the country, saying “it comes as little surprise” the presumptive GOP nominee “hasn’t given this issue much thought.”
“Just recently he said that while he hadn’t fully decided on a position yet, ‘statehood is a tough thing’ for Washington, D.C,” Clinton wrote. “Well, I think what’s been tough for the district is having virtually no say in its own affairs for decades. And by fighting to bring about the creation of a 51st state, I believe we can break down a barrier that’s stood in the way of progress for far too long and give more Americans a say in America.”
