Clarissa Cooper

ccooper@newsleader.com

Alex Hulvey, a Democratic 6th Congressional District delegate from Harrisonburg, is a self-described 'die-hard' Bernie Sanders supporter. On Tuesday night, when Hillary Clinton was officially named the Democratic nominee for president, Hulvey said he was one of the Sanders supporters who walked out of the convention because he was unsatisfied with the collusion in the Democratic party.

Hulvey said he wants to see an investigation into election fraud and actively work to reform the Democratic party to make it better.

"It’s really been like a whirlwind experience, a lot of positive emotion, some negative emotion, it’s kind of overwhelming but in a good way," Hulvey said.

Walking out on Tuesday night wasn't Hulvey's first peaceful act of protest at the convention. At a Virginia Delegates breakfast sponsored by Dominion, Hulvey was one of a small group of delegates who protested against the sponsorship.

"The Democratic party should be on the front lines of combatting climate change, and they should not be accepting money from Dominion in my opinion," Hulvey said.

First-time delegate Hulvey is back on the front lines of the convention today and says he doesn't want people to misinterpret his protests, saying he is just working toward a better future and reforms for the party.

"We are also incredibly proud of what we have done, filling half of this convention with this grassroots movement. There’s a lot of pride and a lot of sadness," Hulvey said of Sanders supporters.

There has been some tension between the Sanders and Clinton supporters, Hulvey said. He said some Sanders supporters have booed, and he estimates hundreds walked out in protest Tuesday night. On the floor, Hulvey said he witnessed a Clinton supporter rip a sign out of a Sanders supporter's hands before the cameras panned over to their section.

Fellow first-time delegate Mike Hamlar from the 6th District said by the time Sanders hit the stage to support Clinton, the crowd's energy was high and much less divided.

Hamlar has been a longtime Clinton supporter and said the experience of the convention is hard to describe.

"It's awesome," Hamlar said. "It's emotional, amazing, exciting, any adjective you can think of."

Hamlar ran for state Senate last year and said he has found it special to share the convention with his wife. When he returns home to Roanoke County, Hamlar said his focus will be getting people to register to vote by running voter registration drives and helping with door-knocking efforts.

"We have got to get people out to vote. Regardless of what party you vote for, you need to go and vote," Hamlar said.

The feeling of being in a room full of delegates reminds Hamlar of his time playing college football at Wake Forest University, he said, with the feel and noise of the crowd.

"We are all coming together to defeat Mr. Trump in November," Hamlar said.