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Hillary Clinton pulled left in acceptance speech

Wikimedia Commons

A packed auditorium overwhelmed a small number of protesters, as Hillary Clinton became the first woman to be nominated by a major party to run for president Thursday night.

A bruising primary fight between Hillary Clinton and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders left some backers feeling voiceless, with a handful of them walking out of her speech with tape over their mouths.

Jeff Day, a Delaware delegate for Sanders, didn’t join those protesters, but says he didn’t listen to Clinton’s remarks – nor will he in the future.

“I made the decision this morning after talking to people that are very close to me, who I love and care about, that I’m going to support [Green Party candidate] Jill Stein in November, but continue to be a Democrat and work toward changing the party in the long term," said Day. "I can’t change Hillary and who she is right now, but I can work on changing the party.”

But Clinton welcomed Sanders supporters, saying she hears their cries calling attention to deep economic disparities between the rich and poor, among several other issues.

Much of her speech adopted policy positions from Sanders’ campaign, like working toward free college tuition and economic equality.

“The reality is Bernie did play a very important role. Hillary got the nomination, but that being said, Hillary really weaved in some of the platform issues that Bernie had and I think we’ll move our party in the right direction,” said Erik Raser-Schramm, a Delaware Clinton delegate who also chaired her 2008 campaign in the state.

He says the majority of Sanders supporters already have or soon will rally behind Clinton as long as she continues to reach out.

These rifts between the two politicians are most apparent here in Philadelphia where their most loyal followers gathered for the past four days.

It’s unclear whether those hurt feelings will threaten Clinton's chances of winning the White House in November.

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