DNC Shoots Down Measure to Have Bernie Sanders Join Dems

The Democratic National Committee voted down a measure Friday that was designed to encourage independents Bernie Sanders (Vermont) and Angus King (Maine) to join the Democratic Party.

According to The Washington Post, the measure was introduced by three California Democrats as the party continues to heal from Hillary Clinton's loss in last year's presidential election.

If it passed, Sanders and King — independents who caucus with Democrats — would have been urged to run in future elections as Democrats.

"I thought we were Democrats here," Bob Mulholland, one of the DNC members who introduced the resolution, told the Post after it failed. "When the Yankees face off against the Dodgers, the only people who will be independent in that ballpark will be the umpires."

Sanders ran for president last year as a Democrat, but switched his affiliation back to an independent after he dropped out of the race. The measure likely targeted him, The Hill reported this week, because a significant chunk of the party's followers supported him for president over Clinton. Sanders, 76, also is considered a potential presidential candidate for the 2020 election.

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