Sen. Bernie Sanders says he’ll work laborious to elect Harris — however he is not endorsing her simply but

WASHINGTON — Dozens of Democrats throughout the social gathering’s political spectrum shortly endorsed Kamala Harris for president over the past 72 hours, however Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., says he is not prepared to hitch them simply but.

Sanders mentioned Tuesday night that he hopes Harris defeats Donald Trump in November, telling reporters: “I’ll do the whole lot I can to ensure that she turns into president” — however with a caveat that he must see extra from her.

Sanders stopped in need of an endorsement, saying Harris wants to stipulate a selected plan to assist working-class individuals earlier than he’ll formally again her marketing campaign.

“I stay up for strongly supporting her. However I believe if she goes to win, she’s going to need to focus an excessive amount of consideration on the plight of the American working class, provide you with some very particular solutions as to how she’s going to deal with the fact that 60% of our individuals are residing paycheck to paycheck,” he mentioned, with out outlining what specifics he hopes to see from her.

Harris has “to make it clear that she’s on the facet of the working class of this nation. If she does that, she’s going to win, and I believe she will be able to win huge.”

Requested whether or not Harris’ alternative of a operating mate is necessary to his endorsement, Sanders mentioned, “Sure, it’s.”

Sanders had demanded related commitments from Joe Biden earlier than he supported him up to now. Sanders has tended to grab alternatives to raise his key points, like increasing Social Safety and elevating the minimal wage. In actual fact, Sanders had publicly backed Biden up till the second he dropped out of the 2024 race, saying Biden nonetheless had a path to victory if he supported expanded Medicare advantages, an even bigger youngster tax credit score and tax hikes on the rich to protect Social Safety.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., a fellow progressive, had additionally backed Biden till the top of his marketing campaign as she pressed him to embrace a bolder agenda. However she endorsed Harris hours after Biden left the race Sunday.

“Now greater than ever, it’s essential that our social gathering and nation swiftly unite to defeat Donald Trump and the risk to American democracy,” Ocasio-Cortez mentioned on X.

Forty-eight Democratic senators have endorsed Harris, together with 175 Home members, together with Senate Majority Chief Chuck Schumer and Home Minority Chief Hakeem Jeffries, each of New York.

A majority of pledged delegates to the Democratic conference have additionally endorsed Harris forward of an early August vote to make her the social gathering’s nominee for president.