Minnesota DFL's Sanders, Clinton camps join in opposition to Trump

PHILADELPHIA – Passionate divisions among Minnesota DFLers who watched Hillary Clinton triumphantly claim the Democratic presidential nomination Thursday started to give way to a fragile unity around the shared goal of defeating Donald Trump in November.

Minnesota's delegation to Philadelphia is more heavily weighted with supporters of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, and many are still raw over what they see as heavy-handed favoritism of Clinton by party leaders. The full commitment of those DFLers will be vital as the party seeks to reclaim a state House majority and expand its hold on the state's congressional seats this fall.

Sanders supporters from around the country flashed their anger throughout the week in Philadelphia, occasionally threatening to derail the Democratic National Convention. But Sanders himself clarified the stakes going forward for Democrats nationwide in a Thursday morning speech to the Minnesota group.

"In the next few months, it is absolutely imperative we work as hard as we can to make sure that Donald Trump is defeated and Hillary Clinton is elected," Sanders told the DFLers, most of them bleary-eyed after a week of early-morning meetings and late-night convention sessions. "And the reason is that Donald Trump is the most dangerous presidential candidate in the modern era."

There is little dissent among the Minnesota delegation that Trump must be stopped. In the end, it is fear over his recently rising poll numbers and disdain for his frequently over-the-top rhetoric that seem likely to push reluctant Sanders supporters toward Clinton.

"I don't believe in her," said Kaela Berg, a delegate from Burnsville and a fair-trade activist.

"I don't agree with her. I don't find her genuine. I don't think she's the right person to take the country forward in this critical time. But there's no way we can have Donald Trump in office. It's a moral conundrum."

Asked whether she would vote for Clinton, Berg couldn't bring herself to say yes, but she then indicated she probably would. "I'm glad November is still a ways off, because I need some time to get there."

Clinton has plenty of die-hard fans in the Minnesota delegation. The speech Thursday night by the former first lady, U.S. senator and secretary of state capped her historic rise to be the first woman to lead a major-party presidential ticket.

"I'm inspired. I'm excited," Jessica Andrist, a delegate from Monticello, said after Clinton's speech. "I'm grateful for Hillary Clinton — the role model, the leader, for her persistence to do what's right."

Closing the convention, Clinton herself struck repeatedly on the importance of Democrats coming together. Directly addressing Sanders during her speech, Clinton thanked those who followed him.

"To all of your supporters here and around the country, I want you to know, I heard you," Clinton said. "Your cause is our cause. Our country needs your ideas, energy and passion."

Interviews with an array of Sanders delegates showed slow movement toward Clinton, with some holdouts.

Rod Halvorson, a St. Paul delegate who chaired the delegation's Sanders faction, said the Vermont senator's endorsement of Clinton was "significant," but he added, "I'm not there yet."

A few said they are further along.

"I'm starting to feel better about where we're going," said Keith McLain, a delegate from Byron who worked as a paid field organizer for Sanders in Minnesota.

Michael Gibino, a Sanders delegate from St. Paul, spent a month jogging from the Minnesota Capitol to Philadelphia as a show of support for Sanders and to raise money for charity.

He ran about 40 miles per day, in 8- to 10-mile stretches punctuated by short breaks.

"I wanted to show how passionate Bernie Sanders supporters are," he said.

But Gibino seems to have made his peace with Clinton.

"At this point, I am expecting to vote for her," he said. Gibino and other Sanders delegates hope a movement they see as a revolution continues to transform the party.

Whether Clinton's presidential campaign can capture and direct the energy that Sanders unleashed has major implications for what happens in Minnesota this fall. Not even many Republicans truly expect Trump to win a state that's gone Democratic for president every four years since 1972.

But it's less clear whether Clinton can provide the same kind of lift to DFL candidates as President Obama did in 2008 and 2012.

"Turnout is what it's all about," said state Rep. Frank Hornstein, DFL-Minneapolis, a Sanders delegate with no reservations about backing Clinton. "The pattern has been that when Democrats have an engaged and energized electorate, which has tended to happen in presidential years, we win."

This year, DFLers are trying to reclaim a state House majority they won in 2008, lost in 2010, won back in 2012 and lost again in 2014.

They are trying to protect a state Senate majority, along with the Eighth Congressional District seat held by U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan. DFLers also see the potential to pick up two Twin Cities-area congressional seats currently held by Republicans — those of retiring U.S. Rep. John Kline in the southeast metro and U.S. Rep. Erik Paulsen in the southwest.

Andie Whitaker, a Clinton delegate from Minneapolis, is worried that some Democrats won't give it their all this November because they don't think Trump can actually win.

"I know a lot of people think we're going to win just because Trump is so extreme, but we can't assume anything," said Whitaker, whose boyfriend was an alternate delegate to last week's Republican National Convention. ("We have some spirited discussions," she said.)

Those proceedings last week in Cleveland also showed a party, and a Minnesota delegation, far from solidly on board with Trump. His unconventional candidacy has drawn an array of high-profile detractors from across the GOP that far exceeds the number of high-profile Democratic detractors to Clinton.

Caroline Hooper, a Sanders delegate from Minneapolis, said she'd vote for Clinton. But she's nervous.

"It's an anti-establishment year, and Democrats chose to nominate the ultimate establishment candidate," said Hooper, a government teacher at Southwest High School. "This is a wild-card election. I'm scared to death what's going to happen."

Patrick Condon • 651-925-5049

J. Patrick Coolican • 651-925-5042