Sanders could endorse Clinton on Tuesday

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders is set to throw his support behind fellow Democrat Hillary Clinton’s bid for the White House on Tuesday during a rally they will hold together in New Hampshire, ending a bitterly fought battle for the presidential nomination that had fractured the party.

An endorsement from Sanders could boost Clinton’s chances against Republican rival Donald Trump in the Nov. 8 election, and comes after she offered Sanders  concessions on policy issues like education, health care and climate change.

At the New Hampshire event, the pair will discuss a shared “commitment to building an America that is stronger together and an economy that works for everyone, not just those at the top,” according to statements released Monday by both campaigns.

The rally will be the first of many in which Sanders will “be out there stumping for the Democratic nominee,” Sanders campaign manager Jeff Weaver said. Weaver would not confirm whether Sanders would formally endorse Clinton on Tuesday.

Sanders had been under pressure for weeks from Democratic Party officials to throw his weight behind Clinton after she locked up the required number of nominating convention delegates last month with a string of wins in state-by-state primary contests.

The former U.S. secretary of state, senator, and first lady needs Sanders’ supporters to boost her chances against Trump in her run for the White House. Only about 40 percent of Sanders’ supporters say they would vote for her, according to recent Reuters/Ipsos polling.

In the past few weeks, both camps have been in regular contact on how to bring Clinton closer to some of Sanders’ progressive stances on issues like wealth inequality, trade, healthcare, education, and the environment in an effort to unify the party, according to Weaver.

Weaver said he and Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook “talk every day, basically, at this point” and said recent shifts in Clinton’s healthcare and education proposals, released last week, were the result of “many, many discussions back and forth about our views.”

Other policy priorities for the senator from Vermont included a $15-an-hour national minimum wage, which was incorporated into the party’s platform at a meeting in Orlando, Florida, this weekend, as well as criminal justice reform and action on climate change.