Sen. Bernie Sanders has suspended his presidential campaign, making Joe Biden the presumptive Democratic party nominee.
"This is not the end for Senator Sanders by any means, and I've been so grateful to him," said Washington Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal in an interview with KING 5.
Jayapal has been a top Sanders surrogate, campaigning for him across the country.
"Bernie recognized the challenge of winning the nomination is difficult," she acknowledged, but said, "Obviously we're going to do what we can to unite everyone across the country and take the White House in November."
It is a stunning turnaround from just months ago, when Sanders appeared to be the frontrunner and Jayapal helped to introduce him at a packed Tacoma Dome rally. Sanders then went on to lose multiple Democratic primaries, in states where he won races in 2016.
"The writing on the wall when Bernie Sanders started losing states he carried four years ago, like Washington state, this is a time, I think that people more broadly want unity because of the crisis we are now, and I think Sanders realizes that too," said KING 5 News political analyst Scott McClellan, who also believes that Sanders departure will not be as fracturing to the Democrats as it was four years ago.
"There is a somewhat of a more friendly relationship between Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders that has been there for quite some time," he said, "He is going to be a good loyal supporter of Joe Biden's candidacy and defeating Donald Trump. The coronavirus pandemic is the issue overshadowing everything else right now, and I think this election could ultimately on Donald Trump's handling of this crisis."
KING 5 political analyst Ron Sims agrees. "They needed to have a single candidate starting now, moving forward against a very formidable incumbent president," said Sims.
The move likely allows the DNC to organize a convention around Biden, but Jayapal casts doubt on a physical convention. The Democrats already moved their long-scheduled gathering in Milwaukee from July to August.
"If a Democratic convention is to occur, it's probably going to have to be virtual because it's very difficult to imagine by August all these restrictions are going to be lifted in total," she said.