Sanders urges his delegates to support Clinton for president

PHILADELPHIA — Declaring that Hillary Clinton will make an “outstanding president,” her former Democratic rival Bernie Sanders laid out his case for supporting her to a crowd that included 1,846 delegates pledged to his campaign.

Sanders’ keynote address came Monday, the first day of the Democratic National Convention. The independent U.S. senator from Vermont had already endorsed Clinton after she outdistanced him in the Democratic nomination process.

“I understand that many people here in this convention hall and around the country are disappointed about the final results of the nominating process,” Sanders said. “I think it’s fair to say that no one is more disappointed than I am.”

Sanders ran an aggressive progressive campaign with strong grass-roots support and individual contributions that averaged just $27. Sanders soared in popularity among voters as an advocate of boosting the minimum wage so people have a livable wage, free tuition at public colleges and universal health care.

He mentioned a Nevada woman he met on the campaign trail.

“This election is about a single mom I saw in Nevada who, with tears in her eyes, told me that she was scared to death about the future because she and her young daughter were not making it on the $10.45 an hour she was earning,” Sanders said. “This election is about that woman and the millions of other workers in this country who are struggling to survive on totally inadequate wages.”

In Nevada, Clinton won the February Democratic caucus and has 20 pledged delegates to Sanders’ 15. Clinton also has the support of nearly all of the state’s eight superdelegates, who are free to support whoever they want.

Before Sanders took the stage, the convention got off to a start Monday that laid bare the fault lines between the camps supporting him or Clinton.

Delegates backing Sanders booed at times throughout the Philadelphia arena when some speakers mentioned Clinton. Some delegates even booed when Sanders mentioned Clinton.

The lingering resentment was deepened partly by nearly 20,000 hacked emails exchanged among national Democratic officials that were released by Wikileaks right before the convention started. The emails suggested top Democratic officials demonstrated favoritism for the campaign of Clinton over Sanders as the two battled for the nomination.

Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz resigned in the fallout, though the resignation isn’t effective until after the convention ends Thursday. As a result, she isn’t presiding over the convention. Wasserman Shultz, a congresswoman from Florida, was booed off the stage at another event with delegates from her home state earlier in the day.

“We are all Democrats and we need to act like it,” said U.S. Rep. Marcia Fudge of Ohio, permanent chairwoman of the convention, when her remarks drew boos early in the evening before Sanders spoke.

Sanders has embraced his mission of helping Clinton defeat Republican nominee Donald Trump.

“The choice is not even close,” Sanders said.

Sanders said he has disagreements with Clinton, but praised her on many fronts, including a proposal that would give free tuition at public colleges and universities to children in families that make $125,000 a year or less.

Other speakers stressed the need for unity, including from Sanders’ side. Diane Russell, a Sanders supporter and Maine state representative, told the audience she “will always stand strong” with Sanders, but will also do everything possible to elect Clinton and defeat Trump.

Nevada’s state Sen. Pat Spearman of Las Vegas gave a well-received message calling for Democrats to continue working together for progress. Spearman, who is a lesbian and a retired lieutenant colonel in the Army, criticized Trump’s choice of Indiana Gov. Mike Pence for his running mate.

Specifically, Spearman took aim at Pence’s signature of an Indiana bill in 2015 that allowed the state’s businesses to deny services to gay and lesbian people if they don’t want to serve them for religious reasons.

“They fear equality,” Spearman said. “We’ll keep fighting for it.”

Calling Clinton “battle-tested,” Spearman said, “Democrats, are we going to retreat? Will we keep marching forward?”

The crowd cheered.

First lady Michelle Obama told the crowd that the election, like all others, is about “who will have the power to shape our children for the next four or eight years of their lives.”

“I am here tonight because in this election, there is only one person who I trust with that responsibility, only one person I believe is truly qualified to be president of the United States,” she said.

Obama praised Clinton for continuing to work as secretary of state in her husband’s administration after she lost her primary bid for the Democratic nomination in 2008.

‘’I want a president with a record of public service, someone whose life’s work shows our children that we don’t chase fame and fortune for ourselves; we fight to give everyone a chance to succeed,” the first lady said.

Eight years after losing the nomination in 2008, Clinton’s only remaining obstacle to the White House is Trump.

Contact Ben Botkin at bbotkin@reviewjournal.com. Find @BenBotkin1 on Twitter.