Bernie Sanders Backers Hope Democratic Party Will Embrace Their Ideas

New Hampshire Union Leader

Apr. 8--After Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders suspended his presidential campaign Friday, his New Hampshire supporters called on the Democratic party to embrace his policies as fervently as the state embraced his two presidential bids.

Sanders announced his decision in a live-streamed video Wednesday morning. He thanked his supporters and the volunteers who knocked on doors on cold winter days to help him win the first-in-the-nation New Hampshire primary in February.

He narrowly bested Pete Buttigieg with 25.7% of the vote. In 2016, he handily beat Hillary Clinton with more than 60% of the vote.

Sanders said the path to the Democratic presidential nomination had become "virtually impossible" after former Vice President Joe Biden won a string of primary elections, beginning in South Carolina.

Executive Councilor Andru Volinsky, who received Sanders' support in his run for governor, said he thought Democratic party voters already are embracing some of Sanders' core policies, like a Medicare-for-all health insurance plan and a $15 minimum wage.

"The best way to show respect for Sen. Sanders and his supporters is to show respect for those policies -- more than just lip service," Volinsky said. He said he wants Biden to express "clear, unequivocal support for those concepts."

Volinsky said he hoped moderate Democrats will welcome Sanders supporters into the fold. "This is a time to act with grace, and to honor people with whom you might disagree," he said.

NextGen New Hampshire, an advocacy group that worked to turn out younger voters, did not endorse a candidate in the primary. But state director Brian Rogers said Sanders had so much support from young people because he spoke to their concerns.

"Millennials and Gen Z both face generation-defining economic downturns as they enter adulthood," Rogers said in a statement. "Young Americans struggle to make ends meet with overwhelming student loan debt and medical expenses, and are the most at risk from the impacts of the climate crisis. The vice president needs to be a champion for bold action on these issues that are going to galvanize our generation to the polls in November."

Sanders said he thought the coronavirus crisis was showing the merit of some of his ideas, particularly a single-payer Medicare-for-all health insurance system.

"Health care must be considered as a human right, not an employee benefit," Sanders said.

Ray Buckley, chairman of the New Hampshire Democratic Party, said the Sanders campaign brought new people into the Democratic party and helped it build a strong organization in New Hampshire.

Buckley said he was not worried about Sanders supporters feeling welcome, saying many are well-integrated into the state party.

"The New Hampshire Democratic Party has a well-earned reputation as an open and inclusive party from the grassroots up," he said in an email. "There are Sanders supporters at every level within the party, as office holders and candidates as well."

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