After easily winning the last Democratic primary in D.C., Clinton met privately with Sanders to seek his support against Republican Donald Trump.
ADVERTISEMENTHillary Clinton has formally wrapped up the U.S. Democratic presidential primaries with a 79 percent win in Washington, D.C. Her focus is now on uniting the party and securing the support of defeated Bernie Sanders in the race to the White House.
The pair met for more than an hour and a half behind closed doors on Tuesday night (June 14). Earlier in the day, Sanders had signaled he was not ready to endorse Clinton just yet, and that he would continue fighting to transform the Democratic party.
Observers say Sanders is resisting in order to win concessions from Clinton — to get the party to lean more towards the left and be more open to young and independent voters.
Ahead of his face-to-face with Clinton, Sanders told reporters he would demand changes to make the Democratic nominating process more equitable, including by getting rid of superdelegates, who are unelected and free to support any candidate.
“The idea that we had in this case 400 superdelegates pledged to a candidate some eight months or more before the first ballot was cast is to my mind absurd,” Sanders said.
He and Clinton did not make any comment immediately after their meeting, but both camps labeled the discussion “positive.” They said the two were committed to stopping Trump and pursuing issues such as raising the minimum wage, making higher education affordable and healthcare coverage more accessible.
Clinton, Sanders Hold 'Positive' Meeting as Primary Season Ends https://t.co/PazHv8wzlQpic.twitter.com/rUgARzS60H
— Voice of America (@VOANews) June 15, 2016
Bernie Sanders has been meeting with Hillary Clinton for over an hour. Earlier, he outlined demands for the DNC https://t.co/b0C8uk9FlE
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) June 15, 2016