Sanders Says He’ll Vote for Clinton But Will Remain in the Race
Sanders is mum about when he will endorse Clinton for president.
— -- Bernie Sanders said he'll vote for Hillary Clinton in November but he still won't endorse his Democratic challenger for president, saying Clinton needs to adopt more progressive positions before he officially ends his presidential bid.
In an interview on MSNBC, Sanders said he would cast his ballot for Clinton because "I'm going to do everything I can to defeat Donald Trump. What I am trying to do right now is to make sure that the Democratic Party becomes the party that represents working people, not Wall Street.”
When asked why he’s not dropping out of the presidential race, Sanders told MSNBC: “Why would I want to do that when I want to fight to make sure that we have the best platform that we possibly can?”
Sanders said he wants to see Clinton move left on universal health care, free higher education and Wall Street reform.
Sanders also admitted that he doesn't have the votes to become the Democratic nominee. Still, Sanders said his refusal to withdraw from the Democratic primary race is not hurting Clinton’s general election chances against Trump.
“I haven't heard her say the things I think should be said,” he said on CBS this morning when asked why he was not endorsing Clinton. “To my mind, she has not brought forth the proposals that I think the American people need to hear.”
Hillary Clinton has more than 2,800 total delegates, according to ABC News estimates; she needed 2,383 to secure the nomination. Sanders' delegates totaled 1,879, according to ABC's estimates.
Sanders said he’s been talking with the Clinton campaign about an endorsement, but he’s not clear on a timeline.
“I would hope that that would happen, or it may not happen,” he said on CBS when asked if he would endorse Clinton before the Democratic convention in July.
“My job right now as a candidate is to fight to make sure that the Democratic Party not only has the most progressive platform in the history of the Democratic Party, but that that platform is actually implemented by elected officials,” he said on CNN.
Sanders returned to Vermont after losing the final primary in Washington, D.C., on June 14.