WASHINGTON — Dozens of Democrats across the party’s political spectrum have briefly endorsed Kamala Harris for president over the past 72 hours, but Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., says he’s not ready to join them just yet.
Sanders said Tuesday evening that he hoped Harris would defeat Donald Trump in November, telling reporters: “I’m going to do everything I can to make sure he becomes president” — but with a caveat that he needed to do more than that.
Sanders said Harris needed to come up with a specific plan to help working-class Americans before officially endorsing his campaign.
“I look forward to supporting him strongly. But I think if he’s going to win, he’s going to have to pay a lot of attention to the plight of the American working class, and come up with very specific proposals on how to do it. “Where 60% of our people live paycheck to paycheck is going to address the reality,” Sanders said, though he wouldn’t say what specifics he would expect from the vice president.
Harris “has to make it clear that this country is on the side of the working class. If he does that, he will win, and I think he can win big.”
Asked if Harris’ choice of running mate would be important to his endorsement, Sanders said, “Yes, it is.”
Sanders has previously sought similar commitments from President Joe Biden before endorsing him. The Vermont senator tends to use opportunities to raise his key issues, such as expanding Social Security and raising the minimum wage. Actually, there was Sanders openly supported Biden By the time he drops out of the 2024 race, he said he still has a path to victory if the president supports expanded Medicare benefits, a larger child tax credit and tax increases on the wealthy to protect Social Security.
His progressive colleague DN.Y. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also supported Biden until the end of his campaign, forcing him to adopt a bolder agenda. But he endorsed Harris hours after Biden dropped out of the race on Sunday.
“Now more than ever, it is imperative that our party and our country unite swiftly to defeat Donald Trump and the threat to American democracy,” Ocasio-Cortez said. X said.
Forty-eight Democratic senators endorsed Harris, along with 175 House members, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
A the majority of pledging representatives The Democratic convention also endorsed Harris ahead of a vote in early August for the presidential nomination.