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Clinton Formally Declared Democratic Party Nominee

Clinton Formally Declared Democratic Party Nominee
Clinton Formally Declared Democratic Party Nominee

In a symbolic show of party unity, Clinton’s former rival, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, told the convention chairwoman that the former first lady should be selected as the party’s nominee by acclamation (crowd approval).

“I move that Hillary Clinton be selected as the nominee of the Democratic Party for president of the United States,” Sanders announced, as the convention roll call reached his home state, a process where each state declares its delegate counts, DW reported.

Following the announcement, Clinton tweeted just one word: “History.”

The confirmation was greeted with cheers from ecstatic Clinton supporters who drowned out jeers from Sanders’ supporters. Senior Democrats took to the stage to praise their new nominee.

Clinton later addressed the crowd in a short live video from New York, telling them, “We have put the biggest crack yet in that glass ceiling.”

A few minutes before the announcement, Clinton had been confirmed to have passed the delegate threshold of 2,382 delegates to win the nomination. She later emerged with a total of 2,842 votes to Sanders’ 1,865 votes.

The former New York senator and secretary of state had faced Sanders in a tough primary fight for the nomination, which lasted more than a year.

  Mouths Taped Shut

Although Sanders endorsed Clinton, many of his supporters protested in Philadelphia against the party leadership’s apparent backing of her during the bitter Democratic primary fight.

A large group signaled their displeasure with Clinton’s nomination by walking off the convention floor and holding a demonstration at the nearby media workspace.

Holding a sit-in inside the media tent, several Sanders supporters had their mouths taped shut to symbolize their lack of voice at the convention.

Earlier Tuesday at the Democratic National Convention, Maryland Senator Barbara Mikulski placed Clinton’s name in nomination, a move that was later seconded by civil rights leader and Georgia representative, John Lewis.

The symbolic roll call was packed with extra emotion over Clinton’s historic achievement. A 102-year-old woman, born before women had the right to vote, cast the ballots for the state of Arizona.

In a speech at the convention later Tuesday, former US president, Bill Clinton, paid tribute to his wife, saying “she would make America stronger together,” a reference to her campaign slogan, “because she’s been doing it all of her life.”

He praised Hillary as a force for change and a longtime fighter for social justice as he made a case for her historic 2016 bid for the presidency.

The former US secretary of state is expected to formally accept the party’s nomination in a speech at the convention on Thursday.

Clinton will now face Republican nominee Donald Trump in the final race for the White House. The US will vote to replace two-term President Barack Obama on November 8.

Financialtribune.com