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At Maine Democrats’ Unity Event, Tension Between Clinton, Sanders Supporters

Several thousand Maine Democrats rallied in Portland Saturday at a state convention that party officials billed as a unity event. The party faithful overwhelmingly agreed that the time has come to change how so-called superdelegates pick presidential candidates. But a rift between supporters of Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders persisted throughout the event.

Former U.S. Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts took the stage at the Cross Insurance Arena to a mix of boos and applause. He was also greeted by a heckler.

Frank, who was speaking on behalf of Clinton, tried to dismiss the man who called him a “corporate sellout.”

“I’m sorry somebody from Fox News apparently got in here,” Frank said. “That’s where I occasionally hear that kind of uncivilized abuse.”

Frank spoke before a predominantly pro-Sanders crowd. He said he wasn’t there to change their minds about the best Democratic candidate but to convince Sanders supporters that they should rally behind Clinton, the front-runner in the race.

A similar effort is underway across the country as Clinton and her surrogates attempt to convince Sanders voters to turn out on Election Day and defeat de-facto Republican nominee Donald Trump. As the Maine Democratic Party convention showed, Clinton has a lot of work to do to capture Sanders’ populist appeal.

“I expect, given the way things have gone, that Hillary Clinton will be the nominee,” said Frank, drawing catcalls and boos from some in the crowd. Frank engaged them. “So in other words you are booing the prediction of a fact. That’s a very odd expression.”

Former state Sen. Troy Jackson, a Sanders supporter, had better luck. Jackson said that Trump had “everything wrong” and even the most ardent Sanders supporters know that Clinton “has almost everything right.” But he said, Clinton needs to do a better job connecting with working-class Americans left behind by the economic recovery.

“They both have it wrong when they argue about his slogan, ‘Make America Great Again,’” Jackson said. “Secretary Clinton says, ‘America’s already great.’ Both of these sentiments are missing the point. We need to stop worrying about a great America and start acknowledging the need for a better America.”

The tension between Clinton and Sanders supporters flared during the debate to change the rules of so-called superdelegates. The change was proposed by Portland state Representative Diane Russell, who says the current use of superdelegates is undemocratic.

Currently, superdelegates can vote for whichever presidential candidate they choose, regardless of the party’s caucus results. Sanders supporters pushed for the change, hoping that it will improve the Vermont senator’s chances for the nomination when Democrats convene for the national convention in Philadelphia in July.

Will Nelson, a Democrat from Sagadahoc County, opposed the change. He said the unpledged delegates were not created to stop populist candidates but to give a “reasonable voice to the professionals in the business whose job it is to elect Democrats.”

Laurie Dobson, from York County, said superdelegates had no place in the party.

“This whole system has done a great disservice to our Democratic party and has done so for years,” she said.

Ultimately, the change drew widespread support.

The rule does not require Maine superdelegates to adhere to the change this year. Party officials warned that making the change now would violate Democratic National Committee rules and jeopardize Maine’s representation at the national convention.

Journalist Steve Mistler is Maine Public’s chief politics and government correspondent. He is based at the State House.