AFT’s Weingarten on Hillary Clinton Clinching Democratic Nomination

WASHINGTON— Statement by American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten on presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s historic milestone:

“Tonight marks a historic moment in America, one that reaffirms the promise that anyone—regardless of race, gender or religion—can reach for the stars in our country. Hillary Clinton is the first woman to be nominated for president by a major party in American history. Both her vision and her journey stand in sharp contrast to the Republican party’s nominee; Clinton is a leader who breaks down barriers and lifts people up, compared with an unapologetic bigot who wants to build walls and who won his nomination by stoking fear and hatred, especially against people of color, immigrants and women. While gender shouldn’t matter, we can’t ignore the historic nature of this moment, particularly as a union that is disproportionately female.

“With tonight’s results, Hillary Clinton has clinched majorities of both pledged delegates and the popular vote. Her message of fighting for everyone and giving all Americans a fair shot to achieve their dreams, combined with her concrete plans to effect real change, inspired millions of people to turn out to vote across the country.

“As the first national union to endorse her, we are proud of the role we played in achieving this victory. Hillary is the best-prepared, most qualified presidential candidate in my lifetime, and our members will keep working to make sure she is the 45th president of the United States.

“As this contest concludes, we also recognize the important role Sen. Sanders has played and hopefully will continue to play. His campaign inspired millions of people—especially young people—and elevated issues that are critical to our progressive values. I look forward to working side by side with Sen. Sanders both to elect Hillary and to win progressive policy in Congress in the years to come.

“We must now turn our attention to unifying our party around our shared values and moving forward to ensure we elect Hillary Clinton and progressive champions up and down the ballot in every state.”