Sen. Bernie Sanders finally said Wednesday what many Democrats have known for awhile: He is not going to be the party’s presidential nominee.
“It doesn’t appear that I’m going to be the nominee,” Sanders told C-SPAN.
Sanders will give a speech in New York Thursday, but he is not expected to drop out of the race or endorse presumptive nominee Hillary Clinton.
Last week, Sanders in a video message to supporters to work with Clinton to defeat Republican Donald Trump, but he refused to withdraw from the race and did not endorse her.
“We are negotiating almost every day with the Clinton people and we want Secretary Clinton to stake out the strongest positions she can on campaign finance reform, on health care, on education - especially higher education - on the economy, on the minimum wage," Sanders said. “She has clearly had to fight her way through a lot of sexism and unfair attacks over the years - which are based on sexism. But we have disagreements. She is clearly an establishment Democrat.”
Clinton won a majority of votes and majority of the delegates in the primary season that ended this week and is expected to be nominated at the Democratic convention in July in Philadelphia as the first woman chosen to lead a major party into the general election contest for the White House.
Sanders said that he doesn’t know what his role will be at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia next month.
“I've given a few speeches in my life. It would be nice to speak at the Democratic National Convention. If for whatever reason they don't want me to speak, then whatever. But I do think I'll speak at the convention.”
Anita Kumar: 202-383-6017, @anitakumar01
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