The California primary elections are scheduled for this coming Tuesday, June 7. Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are running neck and neck. While Clinton's lock on the Democratic nomination appears assured, a loss to Sanders in California next week would be a real setback for her, particularly as she copes with renewed attention to her email travails and her need to turn her attention toward the Republican opposition.
Clinton and Sanders are statistically tied in the most recent USC/Los Angeles Times poll, but Clinton's lead with those most likely to vote (49% to Sanders' 39%) and with registered Democrats (53% to Sanders' 37%) is substantial. On the other hand, as the Los Angeles Times indicates, "Sanders benefits here from party rules that allow registered nonpartisan voters — known in California as 'no party preference' voters — to take part in the Democratic primary. Among nonpartisans who were likely to vote, he led by 48%-35%." In other words, it's a very close horse race in the final stretch.
While I have a lot of admiration for Bernie Sanders and his longtime devotion to economic justice, and I am concerned about Clinton's more hawkish views on foreign and national security policy, their differences pale when set beside the compelling need to defeat Donald Trump, whose ascent to the presidency would be catastrophic for the nation and the wider world. Clinton is the stronger, more practical and experienced Democratic candidate, more likely to extend the accomplishments of Barak Obama, the president who, on balance, I will sorely miss.