Sanders: Up to Clinton to woo my supporters if I lose

Sanders: “I will do everything in my power to make sure no Republican gets into the White House” #Decision2016 https://t.co/wLlkuCIY4x

— MSNBC (@MSNBC) April 26, 2016

Bernie Sanders on Monday said front-runner Hillary Clinton is going to have to make a concerted effort to reach out to his supporters if she wins the Democratic presidential nomination.

During an MSNBC town hall, an audience member who said he’s a Sanders supporter asked if the Vermont senator would help Clinton appeal to his loyalists, who might consider voting for a third-party candidate or abstain from casting a ballot at all. Sanders initially placed the responsibility on Clinton.

{mosads}”We’re not a movement where I can snap my fingers and say to you or anyone else what you should do because you won’t listen to me, you shouldn’t, you’ll make these decisions yourself,” Sanders said.

“I think if we end up losing — and I hope we do not — and if Secretary Clinton wins, it’s incumbent on her to tell millions of people who right now who do not believe in establishment politics or establishment economics, who have serious misgivings about a candidate who has received millions of dollars from Wall Street and other special interests,” that she can work for them, he added.

Sanders went on to list several ways the former secretary of State will need to court such voters, and he urged her to put the American people’s agenda before that of outside groups. He specifically referenced the need for single-payer healthcare, free tuition for public universities and colleges and environmental issues. 

“It’s incumbent upon Secretary Clinton to reach out not only to my supporters but to all of the American people with an agenda that they believe will represent the interests of working families, lower income families, the middle class, those of us who are concerned about the environment, and not just big money interests,” he said.

When pushed by moderator Chris Hayes about whether he plans to help Clinton if he fails to win the Democratic nod, Sanders relented a bit.

“I will do everything in my power to make sure no Republican gets into the White House in this election,” Sanders said.