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President Trump appeared at a news conference in the Rose Garden of the White House on Monday.
Here’s why Bernie Sanders denounced the cancellation of New York’s primary.
Bernie Sanders’s suspended presidential campaign issued a scorching statement on Monday depicting the decision by the New York Board of Elections to cancel the state’s presidential primary election as nothing short of disenfranchisement.
Though he officially ended his campaign this month, Sanders has indicated that he wants every remaining primary to still be held, and for his supporters to still vote for him.
His reasoning? For one, he wants to accrue more delegates before the Democratic National Convention, so he can use them as leverage in policy discussions with Biden.
But Sanders and his legion of loyalists also share another fear: The Vermont senator is a uniquely galvanizing force in progressive politics, and having his name atop the ticket was expected to turn out many liberal voters for New York’s June 23 election who otherwise might not come out to vote. That, in turn, could help put wind in the sails of progressive candidates in down-ballot races.
The New York elections board did not call off the state and local elections that will be held on June 23 — only the presidential primary.
One of the progressive candidates worried that New York voters have lost one of their greatest motivators is Jamaal Bowman, a middle school principal in the Bronx who is challenging Representative Eliot Engel in the 16th Congressional District.
“I’m worried that this could depress turnout among younger voters in my primary challenge,” Bowman said in a statement. “This is terrible for our democracy and our party. My heart goes out to all the organizers who were part of the Bernie campaign and movement.”
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