“I have closely watched the primaries and am deeply impressed with how well Bernie Sanders has done,” said Brown in an open letter addressed to California Democrats and independent voters. “He has driven home the message that the top one percent has unfairly captured way too much of America’s wealth, leaving the majority of people far behind. In 1992, I attempted a similar campaign.”
Brown also called for party unity, as one-third of Sanders supporters have vowed not to support Clinton if she becomes the nominee.
— Jerry Brown (@JerryBrownGov) May 31, 2016
“This is no time for Democrats to keep fighting each other. The general election has already begun. Hillary Clinton, with her long experience, especially as Secretary of State, has a firm grasp of the issues and will be prepared to lead our country on day one,” he continued.
A poll from the Public Policy Institute of California released last week found that the race is currently 46% to 44% for Clinton among likely primary voters.
While Sanders is expected to do well in the state, he has declared that he will not accept defeat in the primary race prior to the July convention, even if Clinton sweeps California.
"I think you know there’s been some discussion that some of the media is going to say the campaign is over, she is the nominee on Tuesday night after the votes come in from New Jersey — that’s not accurate,” said Sanders.
The popular democratic socialist contends that Clinton is ahead because superdelegates pledged their support prior to the race’s beginning. However, these special delegates do not actually vote until the convention and can change their alliances at any time.
"She has received obviously a whole lot of superdelegate support, no question about that," Sanders said. "A lot more than I have. But superdelegates don’t vote until they’re on the floor of the Democratic convention. That’s when they vote,” Sanders asserted.
His campaign is now working overtime to convince those superdelegates that he has a greater chance of defeating Trump in November.