Last night [June 7, 2016], former First Lady and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton laid claim to a piece of history as she won the title as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee a day after a poll indicated that she had secured the 2,383 delegates needed to be the nominee, becoming the first woman to do so for any major political party.
Clinton managed to grasp the vote in New Jersey, New Mexico, South Dakota, and most importantly, California. Senator Bernie Sanders made off with wins in North Dakota and Montana, falling short of a predicted upset win in California. Despite these developments, Sanders has vowed to remain in the race and take it all the way to the convention.
Former Secretary Clinton went on to celebrate her victory at Brooklyn’s Navy yard, alluding to the history made and the path that led up to it.
“Thanks to you, we’ve reached a milestone,” said Clinton. “Tonight’s victory is not about one person. It belongs to generations of women and men who struggled and sacrificed and made this moment possible.”
Across the country in Santa Monica, California, Sanders proceeded to deliver a concession speech that served to congratulate Clinton, while once more reiterating that he is in this for the long haul.
“Our fight is to transform this country and to understand that we are in this together, to understand that all of what we believe is what the majority of the American people believe and to understand that the struggle continues,” said Sanders to a sea of supporters.
Nevertheless, Clinton will have to face a multitude of challenges in the near future. Her tasks will include appealing to Bernie Sanders supporters while preparing for a race against the presumptive Republican nominee, Donald Trump.
Clinton’s focus on Trump has readjusted and is becoming more aggressive as this race progresses, and her speech last night was a clear indication of the fact.
As Clinton sheds herself of the anti-establishment opposition of Bernie Sanders, she will have to prepare herself for the same, if not, more aggressive campaign of Donald Trump.
Citing unity and equality in a race that’s been clearly marked by divisiveness most notably in the Republican party, Clinton will be working to bring together the Democratic Party in hopes that a united front can put a stop to the momentum of the Trump campaign.
“We believe that we are stronger together and the stakes in this election are high and the choice is clear,” said Clinton. “Donald Trump is temperamentally fit to be president and commander in chief. He’s not just trying to build a wall between America and Mexico, he’s trying to wall off Americans from each other. When he says ‘Let’s make America great again,’ that is code for let’s take America backwards.
