With Hillary Clinton as the presumptive Democratic nominee, Washington D.C. residents will still vote on Tuesday.
When Clinton secured the necessary amount of delegates for the nomination last week, Bernie Sanders declared he would still remain in the race. After Clinton passed the threshold of necessary nominees, President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden endorsed her.
Although there are still 20 pledged delegates available in D.C., Clinton has previously been favored there. It is also a majority-minority city; African Americans comprise about half the population. Throughout the primary, African American voters have responded favorably to Clinton.
Washington D.C.’s Democrats know their primary is the least significant, but many will still vote to show support for their candidates. Bernie Sanders urged his supporters to vote at a rally last week, explaining the importance of the democratic process in influencing policy. Sanders has stated that he will fight for every delegate and for every vote and take his campaign to the Democratic National Convention in July.
At this point, it is not really about winning for Sanders. He has wanted to influence the direction of the Democratic Party since the very beginning. The more delegates he has, the possibility of influencing the issues increases. He wants to see Democrats “come up not only with the progressive platform, but with an agenda and with the leadership that will transform this country.”
District voters want a voice as well. Denise Woodson, a Washington D.C. Democrat spoke on the matter.
“D.C. is the last colony, as I like to say. We’re always forgotten. We’ve had taxation without representation for so long—this election is just another example.”
