WASHINGTON (AP) – Seeking to defuse tensions, the Democratic National Committee said Friday it will hold public hearings around the country to develop the platform for its summer convention, a focal point for supporters of presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.
DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Florida congresswoman, announced that a 15-member platform drafting committee will hold hearings in Washington on June 8-9, Phoenix on June 17-18, St. Louis on June 24-25 and Orlando, Florida, on July 8-9, about two weeks before the Philadelphia convention.
The party will also allow rank-and-file Democrats to submit written or video testimony or request to testify in person by going online at https://demconvention.com .
Heading into California’s June 7 primary, Sanders has vowed to amass as many delegates as possible at the convention to try to win the nomination against front-runner Hillary Clinton. Clinton holds a substantial lead among delegates and has been calling for unity as she closes in on the nomination in the final stretch of the primary calendar.
But the platform could provoke a fight between supporters of Clinton and Sanders who are tangling over the party’s future.