Ending an at-times bitter and contentious Democratic primary, Bernie Sanders endorsed Hillary Clinton on Tuesday, asking his supporters to turn their attention to putting the former secretary of state in the White House – but to bear in mind the issues on which he campaigned.



“The profound lesson I have learned is that this campaign is not about Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders or Donald Trump, this campaign is about the needs of the American people and addressing the very serious crises that we face,” Sanders said.

After the pair appeared at the joint rally, the Guardian asked Sanders supporters: what now?

Green party's Jill Stein invites Bernie Sanders to take over ticket Read more

We received 375 responses on readers’ plans for their November vote. And despite the show of solidarity with Clinton on Tuesday, Sanders’ fans aren’t all convinced the presumptive Democratic nominee is who they will now support: Green party nominee Jill Stein was the most popular among reader respondents, with 171 new supporters, more than double the number who said they would move their support to Clinton.

A write-in vote for Sanders was also a popular option, with just 20 respondents opting for Trump. These results aren’t necessarily a representative sample, and they differ significantly from a Pew Research Center poll released Wednesday, which found that 85% of Sanders supporters intended to vote for Clinton. Below, 10 readers explain their choices.

Landon Swartz, 25, Texas: Hillary Clinton

Between the two mainstream party candidates, Hillary Clinton is the most predictable: Trump is a dangerous unknown, and neither of the third-party candidates will garner the votes necessary to mount a successful insurgent campaign.

Lynn Burke, 57, Virginia: Donald Trump

Trump may be inexperienced, but he is not deceptive. It will take him time to learn how government operates but he will have a heavy check on his power by Congress. Clinton has planned this grab for power for years. It is terrifying to think of what she will do in office. Her web has been woven throughout government and there could be no check on her – as we just learned with the corruption of the DoJ and FBI.

Zachary Berger, 24, New Jersey: Jill Stein or Bernie Sanders

The only candidate still in this race that even comes close to representing my political beliefs and the American public at large is Jill Stein. I don’t believe in selecting a lesser of two evils when there are more than two options to choose from. Stein isn’t the perfect candidate and I have concerns about some of her stances, including vaccinations, but she’s a progressive whose platform would benefit the middle and lower classes. Hillary says she’s a progressive, but her largest campaign donors are the big banks, she was extremely late to the game on marriage equality, and the TPP would be a disaster for working-class Americans. I can’t support her. Bernie Sanders is my hero and likely always will be. I fully understand his decision to endorse Clinton today, but I won’t be doing the same.

Leela Colorado, 57, Colorado: Hillary Clinton

Though I have reservations (considering her to be what a Republican used to be), it’s absolutely crucial that Trump lose. Clinton is smart, strong, and competent and will make a good president. Bernie’s views will be reflected, to a degree, by the overall Democratic platform, making his run worth it. Clinton is also battle-hardened, which the candidate needs to be in this volatile, dangerous election.

Lindsay Ballant, 33, Washington DC: Bernie Sanders

I plan to vote for Bernie because he’s the only candidate who, in my lifetime, has supported the progressive policies I believe in while running for the highest national office. His candidacy was a success in that it achieved what it originally set out to do: to move the Democrats to the left and slow their continual drift to the right … Therefore, I have no doubt my best contribution as a voter is to write in Bernie for the general election, or vote for Jill Stein, and keep pressure on Hillary to champion progressive causes. To those who want to dismiss a vote for Bernie as simply a ‘protest vote’, I would argue that voting for the Democrat in deep red states is nothing but a protest vote either. I myself am registered in DC, where President Obama won (both elections) in a true landslide. My vote for Bernie isn’t going to threaten a Trump presidency, and it will act as pressure on Hillary to support the policies Bernie stands for and I believe in. I invite others to do the same.

Michael Chamberlain, 19, Connecticut: Hillary Clinton

Being a cashier, you don’t make much money, as one could imagine, but I was passionate about Bernie Sanders and his movement; thus, whenever I could I would chip in. I felt a sense of belonging being his supporter. I felt I was a part of something big, something important. I felt a certain pride when I put his bumper sticker on my car. I drove a combined 12 hours to see him speak in three different states, and I got to meet him at one. The first thing on my birthday, I went to go vote for him, the first time I have ever voted for a presidential candidate in any capacity. I trust him – and if Hillary Clinton earned his support, then she also has mine.

Eighty-five percent of Sanders supporters intend to vote for Clinton Read more

Adrienne Snyder, 54, California: Jill Stein

Jill Stein is a true progressive whose views have a great deal in common with Bernie Sanders, so now my vote must go to her. Dr Stein’s economic, social, environmental and foreign policy views are all reflective of my own views as a progressive, and she is a smart, honest, and articulate candidate – so I will have no problem voting for her. Hillary Clinton is a Third Way Democrat whose neoliberal policies I reject completely … Clinton’s track record shows us who she is, and why so many progressives and left-leaning independents are wise to reject her.

Natalie Wilcox, 23, North Carolina: Gary Johnson

I plan to vote for Gary Johnson because he is pro-choice, pro-civil liberties, pro-criminal justice reform, pro-legalization of marijuana, pro-immigration, pro-marriage equality, and he was the successful two-term governor of New Mexico. He was voted #1 by the ACLU (even above Obama) as the politician that’s most concerned with civil liberties and personal freedom.

Diego Jimenez, 27, Illinois: Hillary Clinton

Bernie Sanders was not apprehensive about making issues such as climate change and free college the bedrock of his campaign. As a young adult, I consider both of these the most momentous issues of my, and future, generations. I believe Hillary has realized how significant these issues are and will take them seriously. Hillary is not perfect, but she is extremely well prepared, she’s a stalwart and fierce leader, and she’s made mistakes that she will surely not want to come close to repeating again. I do wish she tried harder to come across as sincere; she’s not as dishonest as some Republicans make her out to be, but her demeanor often doesn’t help her cause. I’ll support Hillary because I do believe she will do well … not just because I know Trump would be a total disaster.

Ashley McKee, 30, Ohio: Jill Stein