Two Penn students voted and caucused for Bernie Sanders at the Democratic National Convention, even as Hillary Clinton remained the presumptive nominee.
Rising College juniors Yasmeen Kaboud and Jordyn Tannenbaum, who are board members of Penn Students for Bernie, represented Pennsylvania’s 2nd and 8th districts, respectively.
Both had said they were looking forward to see Sanders speak on Monday, July 25, the opening day of the convention.
“I think Bernie will talk about the issues and ideals he has been talking about this whole time,” Kaboud said. “There will be a real focus on how much the Democrat platform differs from the Republican platform. There will also be a movement away from the fear-mongering and hate that we saw at the RNC and steer towards a more unified party.”
About 85 percent of Democrats who backed Sanders in the primary contests said they planned to vote for Hillary Clinton in the general election, according to a recent Pew Research Center poll. Kaboud said she believes each member of Penn Students for Bernie will have to make a decision on what their next step is after the DNC.
“It is going to depend on what kind of Bernie supporter they are. If they are one of those die hard supporters who generally dislikes establishment politics Hillary Clinton, then maybe they won’t join Penn Dems or Penn For Hillary,” Kaboud said. “If supporters are really getting behind Bernie’s endorsement and voting for Hillary as a way to combat a Trump presidency then I do believe a significant amount of people who will join Penn for Hillary and Penn Dems this upcoming semester.”
Donald Trump has tried to appeal to Sanders supporters in some of his recent speeches, asking them to leave the Democratic Party and support him instead.
In a Washington Post-ABC News poll in May, 20 percent of Sanders supporters said they would back Trump over Clinton in the general election. In June, that figure was down to eight percent.
Tannenbaum said they do not think Bernie supporters will vote for Trump, even if they are against the political establishment.
“The people who are frustrated with the political establishment realize that Trump’s rhetoric is horrible for the country,” Tannenbaum said. “In the end, I think most Bernie supporters will vote for Hillary. I think Trump is trying to pander to Bernie supporters but I don’t think we will fall for it.”
The two students also said while they thought the Democratic party’s platform was solid, it left a few things to be desired.
“We have seen a lot of great things and progress with the updated Democratic platform, but there are definitely some issues that we want to take on and we will be fighting for as delegates on the convention floor,” Kaboud said.
Members of Penn for Bernie plan to continue advocating for Bernie’s movement in the fall, Tannenbaum said.
“I hope the energy on campus that we had all year for Bernie and progressive issues will continue during the general election, even if Bernie is not the nominee,” Tannenbaum said.
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