Last updated on July 18th, 2023 at 12:08 pm
Bernie Sanders wanted Kamala Harris on the Democrats’ presidential ticket, according to a new report. The Senator believes Harris will help Joe Biden win the election.
A new report from Bloomberg claims that Sanders has acted as a unifier in the Democratic Party since his defeat in the primaries. The story suggests he was instrumental in picking Senator Harris for the VP slot.
Sanders acknowledged that he and Biden have differences on policy but said the Democratic nominee would still make progress on Sanders’s goals, from universal health care to raising the minimum wage,” Bloomberg reports.
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“And though Harris was not the most progressive woman under consideration to be Biden’s running mate, she was Sanders’s preferred choice, a person familiar with his thinking said.”
“He, like Biden, saw the California senator as the best boost for the ticket’s chances against Trump,” the report says.
This may go some way to combating criticisms that Harris isn’t progressive enough for Sanders’ supporters and others on the left of the party, though he hasn’t spoken publicly about his involvement in choosing her.
Sanders has urged his supporters to back the Biden/Harris ticket, however. He made a clear appeal at the Democratic National Convention on Monday.
“We must come together, defeat Donald Trump and elect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as our next president and vice president,” Sanders said.
“My friends, the price of failure is just too great to imagine.”
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Darragh Roche is a journalist covering U.S. politics and media
