Feingold: Bernie Sanders Will ‘Do The Right Thing’ If Clinton Wins Nomination

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Russ Feingold says Bernie Sanders will work to unite the Democratic party if he loses the presidential nomination to Hillary Clinton.

Speaking to reporters in Madison on Thursday, Feingold complimented former Secretary of State Clinton’s support for President Barack Obama after their primary eight years ago.

“Hillary Clinton showed she knew how to do this in 2008 – she fought as hard as she could, but when it was clear that the handwriting was on the wall, she did the right thing,” Feingold said. “Bernie Sanders, if he ends up not winning, is going to do the same thing.”

Speculation about the end of Sanders’ campaign for president has swirled after Clinton’s primary wins in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, and Pennsylvania on Tuesday. The Sanders campaign, which won Rhode Island, has since announced a large number of layoffs.

Feingold said he wouldn’t speculate on whether Clinton is the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. He did say, however, that Sanders, a U.S. Senator from Vermont, is already showing signs of attempting to unite the party.

“I see it even in the way he was speaking last night and this morning,” Feingold said. “He will do the right thing when the time is right. There is no big hurry.”

Feingold, who served with both Sanders and Clinton in the U.S. Senate, won’t say who he voted for in Wisconsin’s April 5 primary. He says he’s more focused on uniting the party behind the eventual nominee.

“It does no good, since my goal is to help unify,” he said.