Bernie Sanders Endorses Hillary Clinton

After 14 months of policy clashes and moments of disdain, Senator Bernie Sanders endorsed Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination on Tuesday, clearing away the last major obstacle to a united front for the party heading into its convention this month and the fall election.

Yet for all the smiles and hugs between the former rivals here at their first joint rally, Mrs. Clinton’s next challenge was on vivid display as some Sanders supporters jeered her name and held signs saying “Won’t Vote Hillary” while Clinton partisans hissed “shhhh” and others chanted “unity.”

In the coming weeks, from Mrs. Clinton’s choice of a running mate to her convention speech, campaign commercials and overtures to Republicans, the 13 million voters who backed Mr. Sanders in the primary contests will be watching her for any hint of wavering from their progressive causes.

Mrs. Clinton needs to convert many of these liberals and independents in states like New Hampshire and Wisconsin, which Mr. Sanders won and she wants to carry in November. And Mr. Sanders, in his remarks at the rally, signaled what may be her best hope of attracting them: drawing sharp contrasts between her and Donald J. Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, so his admirers feel they have no choice but to support Mrs. Clinton.

Dropping his portrayal of Mrs. Clinton as a captive of Wall Street billionaires and big-money interests, for instance, Mr. Sanders redirected those sorts of accusations to Mr. Trump, saying his proposed tax cuts would be a windfall to wealthy Americans.

“His reckless economic policies will not only exacerbate income and wealth inequality, they would increase our national debt by trillions of dollars,” Mr. Sanders said.

Standing beside him at Portsmouth High School, Mrs. Clinton beamed and applauded at first as Mr. Sanders spoke, but the two exuded little warmth and looked stiff — especially Mr. Sanders — as they waved to the audience and cameras. When he finished speaking, he reached out his hand to her, but Mrs. Clinton went in for a hug and a microphone caught her saying, “You were great, so great,” and “thank you so much.”

Then, in her appeal to his supporters, Mrs. Clinton sought to pick up his political mantle and pledged to overhaul Wall Street and the campaign finance system, two issues that Mr. Sanders largely left for her to address.

“It is past time to end the stranglehold of wealthy special interests in Washington,” she said as Mr. Sanders smiled and clapped.

Mrs. Clinton did not promise to forgo major donations herself, however: After the endorsement event she flew to New York for a private matinee performance of the hit Broadway musical “Hamilton” for donors who gave $2,700 to $100,000 to her campaign or the Democratic National Committee. She tried to strike the right notes, though, such as pledging to uphold “our progressive values.”

“You will always have a seat at the table when I am in the White House,” she said to Mr. Sanders’s backers.

For many of those supporters, voting for Mrs. Clinton is still hard to fathom. About 85 percent of Democrats who backed Mr. Sanders in the primary contests said they planned to vote for her in the general election, according to a Pew poll released last week. Yet other polls show that only a small fraction of them would do so enthusiastically.

“I’m a Bernie guy,” explained Noah Levin, a college student in Hampstead who wore an “H” for Hillary sticker on his T-shirt but said he wasn’t sure he would support Mrs. Clinton in the fall. “I won’t vote for Trump, but November is a long way away,” he said.

On the campaign trail, Mrs. Clinton has been focused on winning over independents and Republican-leaning women who are turned off by Mr. Trump, exuding confidence that the young voters and liberals who backed Mr. Sanders will get in line and support her when faced with the prospect of a Trump presidency instead.