Some Tennessee Democratic delegates divided on Sanders staying in race

Democratic presidential candidates Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., right, and Hillary Clinton speak during the CNN Democratic Presidential Primary Debate at the Brooklyn Navy Yard on Thursday in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

NASHVILLE - With Hillary Clinton now national Democrats' presumptive presidential nominee, some Tennessee delegates were divided Tuesday as to whether rival Bernie Sanders should remain in the race until Democrats meet in July to nominate her officially or bow out now.

"That's a good question," said Renda Washington, a Clinton delegate from Chattanooga. "I think he needs to throw in the towel because we need to unify the party before the convention."

Not so fast, said Laurie Dworack, a Sanders delegate from Red Bank.

"No, I think at this point what his movement has accomplished is very much valid," said Dworack, whose husband, Dale, is also a Sanders delegate. "There are so many things in America that are not working for most of us, the average citizen. [Sanders] has opened conversations we would not have had if he were not in the race."

"For him to throw in the towel, I think, would be bad for the Democratic Party," she said. "It'd be bad for the country."

The Times Free Press interviewed several Democratic delegates in Southeast Tennessee and other parts of the state prior to polls closing Tuesday in the six states.

On Monday, The Associated Press reported Clinton had already won the nomination based on her previous elected delegate tallies, along with AP's canvassing of hundreds of unbound, unelected Democratic "superdelegates."

Among superdelegates is Tennessee Democratic Party Chairwoman Mary Mancini, who said in a statement she is backing Clinton.

"Hillary Clinton's combined experience as an activist, attorney, U.S. senator and secretary of state is why I have pledged my superdelegate vote to her," Maninci said.

The AP reported this week that former Vice President Al Gore of Tennessee, who served under President Bill Clinton and later narrowly lost his own presidential race to Republican George W. Bush in 2000, remained uncommitted.

Dennis Patrick, a Clinton delegate from Cleveland, questioned how Sanders, a U.S. senator and self-described democratic socialist from Vermont who's galvanized Democrats' populist wing, "is going to get enough delegates? If you look at the math, [Clinton's] already got it. Why wouldn't he throw it in?

"To me, it's stupid to say, 'I'm going to go all the way to the convention,'" said Patrick, a retired union member. "He doesn't have a mathematical chance to get it. I think they have to unite the party to defeat Trump."

Republican Donald Trump is the presumptive GOP nominee.

Dale Dworack, a local teacher, said "the plan is to see if [Sanders] can pull some superdelegates away from Clinton." Dworack said he backs a number of Sanders' positions such as "government having a role in helping people and not just corporations" and his backing of individual rights.

Clinton, he said, "is controversial for a lot of people. I don't think it's always been fair. I think the Clintons were under attack from the day they took office."

Laurie Dworack said Sanders has drawn in many independents "looking for an option that's not Trump. Bernie is actually a better candidate to put up against Trump. He doesn't have the negative history that Hillary does. I feel that she possibly could win. [But,] I don't think it's as much of a given."

Washington, who is the appointed executive director of the Hamilton County Democratic Party, said she believes Sanders will remain in the race "right up until he gets to the convention" in Philadelphia.

She doesn't think that will necessarily result in disunity, but she does have some concern "that you have the die-hards. But I don't think it's enough to keep [Democrats] from winning. If you're not going to vote for Hillary, who do you vote for? I'm hoping that Trump will be enough and Bernie will talk to them."

Tennessee Senate Democratic Leader Lee Harris of Memphis, a Sanders delegate, said the U.S. senator from Vermont has "shown a progressive message can be really compelling and I don't want Democrats to move away from that."

He said Clinton has won the nomination with the question now being "what do we do in the next phase to unify the party?"

His hope is Clinton will pick a vice presidential running mate "that taps into that energy" generated by Sanders among progressives. "We don't want to lose that," Harris said, suggesting a "dream ticket" that is either Sanders or another outspoken progressive, such as U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.

"If Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders is the vice presidential nominee, I guarantee the Democratic Party will be unified and we will change America. There are no sour grapes," Harris said.

Contact staff writer Andy Sher at asher@timesfreepress.com or 615-255-0550. Follow on twitter at AndySher1.