While Donald Trump has all but locked up the Republican nomination, the fight on the Democratic side of the aisle is not quite over. Though Bernie Sanders still has an outside shot at victory, it would take a historic collapse to prevent front runner Hillary Clinton from walking out a winner.
"Berners" on notice
The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is less than three months away, and Clinton is the odds on favorite to represent the party against Trump in the general election. The race between Clinton and Sanders has gotten heated over the last few months, as supporters on both sides have become hostile to one another.
This issue was discussed with the chairman of the Philadelphia 2016 Host Committee for the convention in July, as reported by The Hill on May 8.
Dem convention host: Sanders supporters better 'behave themselves' when he loses https://t.co/cXhVMv5Yur pic.twitter.com/REYfEznKii
— The Hill (@thehill) May 8, 2016
Former governor of Pennsylvania and current DNC host chair, Ed Rendell, spoke with radio host John Catsimatidis about the upcoming convention. Rendell, a long time supporter of the former Secretary of State, explained that Sanders supporters must be on their best behavior, especially when the roll call is announced and Clinton is declared the winner.
"Bernie’s gonna have his name placed in nomination; we're gonna have a roll call; there’s gonna be a demonstration in support of Bernie; he’s gonna lose the roll call,” Rendell told Catsimatidis.
Continuing, Rendell stated, "His supporters have to behave and not cause trouble. And I think they will." In a recent poll, over 25 percent of Sanders supporters have pledged not to vote for Clinton in a general election, with 16 percent of supporters of the former First Lady doing the same about the senator from Vermont.
Election status
Sanders currently sits with 1,415 delegates, not far behind Clinton's 1,705. Where the senator from Vermont runs into trouble is with Superdelegates, as Clinton' lead is almost insurmountable. It's expected, as of press time,that 523 Superdelegates will support Clinton, compared to only 39 who have come out in favor of Sanders. Regardless of who wins the Democratic nomination, both Clinton and Sanders are polling ahead of the billionaire real estate mogul in most recent head to head surveys.
