Lee Saunders

Opinion contributor

At this moment, states representing 2.3% of the U.S. population have registered their choice for who should be the Democratic nominee for president of the United States. But that has not stopped pundits from coronating front-runners, declaring others also-rans and predicting confidently what will happen next. It is moments like these that validate my decision to stay off Twitter.

Let’s take a step back and a few deep breaths. Enough with the hot takes. The team leading in the top of the second inning sometimes wins the game, but not always. Millions of voters have not yet weighed in. Let’s give them a chance to participate, instead of disenfranchising them by predetermining the outcome. Let’s continue to hear from the candidates about their plans to strengthen unions and address the concerns of working families.

I have the deepest respect for activists in Iowa and New Hampshire and the seriousness with which they take presidential vetting, but these states have enjoyed outsize influence in the nominating process for too long. Though through no fault of their own, they do not reflect the nation’s changing demographics. It is unfair that much of the Democratic Party’s diverse constituency is still waiting for its turn to speak, at a moment when the national media seems determined to set the narrative and winnow the field.

2020 nomination race has just started

At the union I lead, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, we are choosing to take the long view and trust a 2020 nominating process that has barely begun. We have been intentional about not putting our thumb on the scale at an early stage.

Among AFSCME’s 1.4 million members, there are active supporters of each of the presidential candidates. But as an institution, our national union is standing back and holding off on an endorsement. We have instead encouraged the candidates to engage with AFSCME members nationwide, to better understand the challenges they face and the work they do in public service.

There is one prevailing imperative: to defeat President Donald Trump. Our eyes are on that prize. This presidency has been an unbridled assault on union members and all working people. While lavishing the superwealthy with tax cuts, this administration is trying to hollow out the middle class by taking away health coverage, eliminating student loan forgiveness, cutting nutrition assistance and so much more. This president has exploited every opportunity to set Americans against each other, to demonize immigrants and people of color, to flout the rule of law and threaten established democratic norms.

Within the Democratic Party, this is not a moment for personal attacks or purity tests. The vitriol leveled at leaders of Nevada’s Culinary Union, for wishing to protect the health benefits they have negotiated, was beyond the pale. By the same token, some in the party have gone out of their way to antagonize supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders. None of this moves us closer to victory in November.

Democrats share same goals on health

The debate over "Medicare for All," which has sucked up so much oxygen during the early stages of this campaign, has become divisive and counterproductive. We are haggling over details when we should be highlighting consensus on broad goals and principles. Every Democratic candidate wants to expand access to quality, affordable health care for working families; the Trump administration wants to take it away. That’s all that matters right now.

In due time, a single candidate will amass enough delegates to win the Democratic nomination and become the one person who can save us from a second Trump term. I don’t know who that will be. But I do know that whoever it is, not everyone in the party will agree with him or her 100% of the time on 100% of the issues.

When that moment comes, it will be time to end the robust internal debate and unite without hesitation or equivocation behind that standard-bearer. As a member of the Democratic National Committee, I will do everything in my power to facilitate that unity. There is too much at stake to do anything less.

Lee Saunders is president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, a union of 1.4 million public service workers.