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In public and private remarks and in an e-mail to supporters, Sanders indicated he’s staying in to shape the party’s governing agenda and nominating process, not erode Clinton’s standing, and that he’s committed to defeating Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, in November. Clinton already has fully engaged in the general election campaign against Trump, which has been re-framed by the mass shooting at an Orlando gay club on Sunday by an American man claiming allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

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There was little at stake in the District of Columbia’s primary, which Clinton won by a comfortable margin. With all precincts reporting, Clinton had 78 per cent of the district’s vote to Sanders’s 21 per cent, according to the city’s board of elections. Rather than campaigning, Sanders spent the day checking in with the one constituency that will have the greatest influence on his standing now that the race is over — his peers in the Democratic Party.

Sanders drew a standing ovation when he went into a lunch meeting with fellow Senate Democrats on Capitol Hill Tuesday afternoon. Some of those who have wanted him to withdraw said they have made their peace with his decision to stay in. Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey said Sanders ultimately “can, I think, and will, play a constructive role in making sure Secretary Clinton wins.”

Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois said Sanders “really challenged us” as Democrats to be more responsive to issues of income inequality, the power of banks, big money in politics” and other aspects of his platform. “He said he’s going to take his message to the convention, for progressive values and party reform. I’m open to that. I think we all should be open to that.”