‘We’re going to the convention’: Bernie Sanders continues fundraising as campaign fades
Sen. Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign is still raising funds from supporters despite the fact that presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton essentially locked up the nomination weeks ago.
Sanders’ campaign fired off multiple fundraising requests to supporters on Thursday, ahead of the Federal Election Committee’s final fundraising deadline. “We’re going to the convention,” one email declared, referring to the Democratic National Convention later this month.
“When our delegates gather in Philadelphia, they’ll have the chance to put the Democratic Party on the record about stopping votes against the TPP, fighting for a $15 federal minimum wage, opposing fracking, and so many more progressive priorities,” Sanders’ campaign manager wrote to supporters on Thursday night
“Our campaign has earned the right to send almost 1,900 delegates to vote on these important issues, but many of them are working folks and the costs of attending the convention are too high,” read another email. “So I want to help them get there, because this campaign isn’t about Bernie Sanders, it’s about all of us.”
Sanders mounted a stronger-than-expected campaign in the Democratic primary. The last contest was on June 12, and a week before that contest, Clinton obtained the necessary delegates to become the nominee.
Sanders, who has steadfastly refused to concede the race, has started signaling that he’s moving toward endorsing Clinton. Last week, Sanders said “yes” when asked if he will end up voting for her.
“I’m going to do everything I can to defeat Donald Trump,” he said.
Still, Sanders seems determined to hang onto his candidacy for as long as possible. While he told MSNBC’s Chris Hayes Thursday evening that — contrary to what Trump has been saying — “I do not hate Secretary Clinton,” Sanders also pushed back against comments made earlier in the day by Vice President Joe Biden, who told NPR he’s confident “Bernie’s going to endorse her.”
“Right now, my hope is that we can reach an agreement on some very important issues and I can go forward to the millions of people who supported me and say, ‘Look, this is the progress that you’ve made. This is where we’re going to go as a country,‘” Sanders said. “So, I hope it happens. As of this moment, we’re not there quite yet.”
