Harvard’s Bernie Supporters Rally Behind Clinton

Political commentators have questioned whether Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders’s young progressive followers will line up to vote for Hillary R. Clinton come election day.

At least at Harvard, the answer appears to be yes.

Sanders supporters on campus are rallying behind Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee and former Secretary of State, though with the caveat that some feel less enthusiastic about the nominee.

The so-called “Bernie or Bust” movement, that had a demonstrable presence at this summer’s Democratic National Convention, is not visible on Harvard’s campus. Justin G. Curtis ’19, vice president of the former Harvard Students United for Bernie student group, said all of the former members of his organization with whom he has recently spoken recently plan to vote for Clinton.

From left: Justin G. Curtis '19, Sarah A. Welsh '19, and Graham W. Bishai '19 phone voters to garner support for presidential candidate Bernie Sanders in January, ahead of the Iowa caucuses. By Thomas W. Franck

“When we were canvassing in New Hampshire for the primaries, we were canvassing for Bernie and they were canvassing for Hillary. It was a very amiable relationship,” he said, referring to a Harvard Democrats trip last semester. “They stand for many of the same things, so I think there should be a pretty natural transfer of support.”

Compared to other university campuses across the country, Curtis said he believes Harvard students have more readily accepted Clinton’s nomination, and himself called the DNC Bernie or Bust parades “quite frankly ridiculous.”

Several members of the Harvard Democrats, including board members, who previously canvassed and phone-banked for Sanders have offered their help to the Clinton campaign, Harvard Democrats President Susan X. Wang ’17 said. Wang added that she hopes to improve outreach efforts to former Sanders supporters across campus in the coming weeks as well, with canvassing trips to New Hampshire and phone-banking into Nevada and Pennsylvania planned for the near future.

“We are really trying to make sure to reach out to the people who were actively campaigning for Bernie and trying to get them involved with our canvassing activities,” she said. “We realize that at the end of the day we’re all Democrats and unfortunately the way the election has played out, if it’s not Hillary Clinton, it’s going to be Donald Trump.”

He Li ’16-17, who served as president of the former Harvard students for Sanders group, said everyone he has spoken to has decided to rally behind Clinton, though many were initially “disenchanted,” himself included, with her candidacy. Li said several former members of his organization are working for Clinton over the next few months running up to the election.

Both Li and Curtis attributed the successful transfer of support from Sanders to Clinton among their membership to Clinton’s adoption of elements of Sanders’s platform.

“I preferred Sanders to Hillary mostly because of his stance on campaign finance reform, and a lot of what he said actually has worked its way into Clinton’s program calling for a constitutional amendment to repeal Citizens United,” Curtis said, referring to a Supreme Court ruling that made it easier for corporations to make political donations. “So I think that a lot of that ideological carry over has influenced a lot of my peers to support Secretary Clinton.”

—Staff writer Kabir K. Gandhi can be reached at kabir.gandhi@thecrimson.com. Follow him on Twitter @KabirKGandhi.