Hillary Clinton became the first woman in history to win the White House nomination of a major US political party Tuesday, securing the backing of Democrats at a convention in Philadelphia. The former first lady, senator and secretary of state took a monumental step on her quest to become American’s first female president, by besting party challenger Bernie Sanders.
After a tumultuous convention opening which saw Sanders and Clinton supporters trade jeers and chants, Clinton passed the 2,382-delegate threshold needed for the nomination, setting up a showdown with Republican Donald Trump in November.
“History,” said a post on her Twitter account.
Although the outcome was a foregone conclusion, the state-by-state vote saw rowdy displays on the convention floor. Some diehard Sanders delegates expressed frustration with their candidate’s defeat, but the divisions seen were much less pronounced than on Monday.
Clinton’s nomination was formally put forward by Senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, the longest serving woman in the history of the US Congress. Civil rights icon John Lewis, a congressman from Georgia, seconded the nomination.
‘Show a little class’
The Clinton camp is looking to unite the party’s factions. Monday saw disruptive protests and a rancorous fight over leaked emails that showed party bias against Sanders. Frustration boiled over as his delegates jeered speakers who mentioned Clinton.
Vice President Joe Biden, who will address the convention Wednesday along with President Barack Obama, dismissed concerns the party was not uniting behind Clinton.
“We’ve got to show a little class and let them be frustrated for a while. It’s OK,” he said of Sanders supporters as he toured the convention arena Tuesday.
Sanders meanwhile called on his supporters to get behind Clinton.
“What we must do, or forever look back in regret, is defeat Donald Trump and elect Hillary Clinton,” he said Tuesday while addressing the California delegation. In my view, it’s easy — it’s easy to boo, but it is harder to look your kids in the face who would be living under a Donald Trump presidency,” he said.
Trump took the usual shots at Clinton during a speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Charlotte, North Carolina, calling her “Crooked Hillary” and charging that her use of a private email account as secretary of state “put America’s entire national security at risk.”
A Clinton campaign official said Tuesday’s convention events aim to draw a sharp contrast with Trump. The line-up of speakers will talk about her life-long fights to make a difference. Chief among them will be former president Bill Clinton, who will take the stage during primetime to hail his wife as a “change-maker,” the official said.
But Clinton and the others — including mothers who have lost children to gun violence or in clashes with police — will also have the unstated mission of mending fences with Sanders’ army of vocal young activists.