Clinton hires Sanders Indian American Student Organizer

Hillary Clinton speaks during a presidential primary election night rally on June 7 in New York. | AP Photo

WASHINGTON (Diya TV) — Now the presumptive Democratic nominee for November’s presidential election, Hillary Clinton this week hired Kunoor Ojha, former director of student organizing for the Sanders campaign, in an effort to shore up an area where she urgently needs help.

Ojha is the first major hire for Clinton from the Sanders campaign. Sanders routinely outperformed her by massive margins among the youngest voting age groups, and Clinton has repeatedly said that she admires Sanders’ strength among that group.

Clinton is moving quickly to ensure the Democratic youth brigade remains in the blue column, despite the fact a Harvard Institute of Politics poll earlier this year found 61 percent of voters under 30 would back Clinton. Only 25 percent of said voters would support Trump in a two-way race, the poll said.

Clinton has thus far been unable to replicate Sanders’ success with the group that’s pivotal to Democrats, and the move — coming as her campaign swings toward its general election match-up against Donald Trump — suggests that she is looking directly at bringing Sanders’ backers to her side.

Kunoor Ojha

It also means that Clinton’s political effort has entered a new phase of outreach: members of losing campaigns often fold into the party nominee’s efforts, and Ojha — who was a field organizer for Barack Obama in 2008 — is the first public hire.