Hillary Clinton is the presumptive Democratic nominee for the presidential election in November, but in South Dakota it was a close race.
South Dakota State Senator Scott Parsley backs Hillary Clinton. He says the Clintons have always had a lot of support among Democrats in South Dakota. Clinton won roughly fifty-one percent of the vote in the state primary. Now, Parsley says Clinton needs to focus on reaching out to Sanders supporters.
“I’m hopeful that, well, she certainly needs to reach out, but I’m hopeful that Senator Sanders will reach out to his supporters and say ‘The people have spoken. We have made history tonight. We’ve nominated the first woman to run for the highest office in this country and it’s time now for you, my supporters, to coalesce behind her and we need to get her elected in November,” says Parsley.
But some Sanders supporters like State Senator Troy Heinert are surprised by the Clinton victory in South Dakota. Heinert, a Native American lawmaker, says in order for the Secretary to gain his support, Clinton needs to listen to the issues Sanders raised while in South Dakota.
“Hopefully she takes some cues from Senator Sanders and really dives into treaty rights and, you know, our healthcare situation and the poverty that we are currently living in, and I believe she will,” Heinert says.
Heinert says he hopes Sanders stays in the race to keep these issues alive. He says in the end party unity is imperative and Democrats will rally behind the nominee.