However, with the controversy over leaked party emails that showed Democratic staffers favoring Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders during the primary campaign still simmering, Wasserman Schultz faced the prospect of a hostile reception from delegates on the floor Monday.
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Clinton says that Wasserman Schultz will serve as honorary chair of her campaign’s 50-state program to help elect Democrats around the country.
Then, facing pressure to end the distractions as the Democratic National Convention takes place in Philadelphia, Wasserman Schultz resigned as chairperson of the DNC itself.
The scene was a troubling display of tumult for Democrats who awoke Monday to a firestorm over hacked party emails. Sanders generated enormous enthusiasm among young people and liberals during the Democratic primary, voters Hillary Clinton needs to show up for her in November.
By the time Sanders took the stage for the night’s closing address, much of the anger had been overshadowed by speeches promoting party unity.
Back in Wasserman Shultz’s home district, she faces fierce competition from political newcomer Tim Canova.
When the conventions are over, the candidates will be courting the political centrists, which is where the presidential election (and most elections) are won or lost.
“I can see there’s a little bit of interest in my being here, and I can appreciate that interest”, she said. Biden has endorsed Clinton and promised to campaign hard for her but was seen as a potential chief rival to her had he run for president.
“If the process itself was rigged and not democratic-unfair-I think he has an opening, absolutely”, Patel said of Sanders’s chances to snatch the nomination away from Clinton. Sanders said he would continue to support Clinton as his main goal was to defeat Trump, Republican presidential candidate.
While her role at the DNC has been reduced to something relatively minor, some pro-Clinton Democrats are pushing for Wasserman Schultz to remove herself from the convention entirely.
Both President Obama and Hillary Clinton accepted Wasserman Schultz’s resignation in statements issued within moments of each other. “He’s doing it the Bernie Sanders way”, he said.
“I have decided that in the interest of making sure that we can start the Democratic convention on a high note that I am not going to gavel in the convention”, the Florida congresswoman told her local paper.
It was impossible to hear what the controversial figure, whom leaked emails recently proved was showing a preference in the primary battle between Sanders and presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
Even when the Florida lawmaker mentioned Sunday night’s shooting in Fort Meyers, Florida, which left two dead and more than a dozen injured, the heckling did not stop.
But according to the Associated Press her efforts to address the gathering was hampered by supporters of Mr Sanders waving placards and shouting “Bernie, Bernie”.
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Democrats are hoping to avoid the sort of overt signs of dissent that plagued the Republican National Convention in Cleveland last week. WikiLeaks has released nearly 20,000 emails among top DNC officials, especially in the communications staff, and has created a searchable database for them.
