For at least one Bernie Sanders supporter, it’s “Bernie or bust.”
Speaking Tuesday as part of a panel of voters on CNN’s “New Day,” Pennsylvanian Yahne Ndgo underscored what could be a general election problem for Hillary Clinton if she wins the Democratic presidential nomination.
“I’m definitely Bernie or bust,” Ndgo said. “I won’t vote for Hillary. I can’t vote for her.”
Ndgo said one of the reasons she can’t support Clinton is because of her “harmful” impact on foreign countries as secretary of state.
“The footprint that we’ve had in other countries is not really all that diplomatic,” she said. “I think that we’ve been harmful in a lot of other countries and that Hillary Clinton has been a force for that harm in other countries.”
Instead of Clinton, Ndgo said she’d likely cast her ballot for Green Party candidate Jill Stein if Sanders isn’t on the ballot.
“I would probably vote for Jill Stein … so that I can participate in the election,” she said. “As a black woman, there are people who have died in order to ensure that I have the right to vote. And I take that very seriously, so I’m going to cast my right to vote. I have to cast my vote in a way that I believe in.”
Clinton leads Sanders in the pledged delegate count by about 250, and will likely expand on that lead after Tuesday’s primaries in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.
Sanders said Tuesday he plans on staying in the race until at least June 7, when California votes, but he acknowledged his path to winning was “narrow,” in an interview on “New Day.”
“It’s a narrow path, but we do have a path,” Sanders told CNN’s Chris Cuomo. “And the idea that we should not contest in California — our largest state, let the people of California determine what the agenda of the Democratic Party is and who the candidate for president should be — is pretty crazy.”
But even as Clinton marches toward the nomination, some Democrats are concerned about her ability to bring Sanders’ supporters into the fold.
About 25% of Sanders’ voters said they will not support Clinton if she is the nominee, according to a McClatchy-Marist poll released in early April.
For Ngdo, her support for Sanders comes from more than just his policy positions.
“I think issues matter as it relates to Bernie Sanders, it’s much more about also ideology. It’s also about the driving force around humanity. And that’s what Bernie Sanders represents,” she said. “We know on various issues, whatever those issues are, he’s going to be coming from a place of caring about all of the people and driving to make things better for everyone.”