Debate Offers Biden, Sanders a Chance to Bridge Democratic Party’s Divide

After all the rancor of the Democratic presidential race, front-runner 👤Joe Biden has a chance in Sunday’s debate to extend an olive branch to rival 👤Bernie Sanders and his fervent liberal supporters in a bid for party unity before the general election fight.

Biden and Sanders will square off in what may be the final debate of the Democratic nominating contest. Biden leads Sanders in delegates after a string of primary victories, and next week’s nominating contests could put the former vice president on a nearly unstoppable path to the nomination.

The centrist Biden may now be in a position to try to find common ground with Sanders, a democratic socialist, a move that could help mend the fissure in the party between moderates and progressives, Democratic Party veterans say.

“Sunday’s debate could be an important step to heal and strengthen the party,” said Hari Sevugan, recently a top aide to former presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg. “A measured, respectful conversation could go a long way.”

The winner of the Democratic primary contest will face Republican President Donald Trump in the Nov. 3 election.

Biden is not prone to conflict with fellow Democrats. The question remains whether the pugnacious Sanders, a U.S. senator from Vermont, would follow suit or keep trying to draw a clear contrast between the two candidates.

Some Democrats say lingering tensions between Sanders and rival Hillary Clinton in 2016 played a role in her upset loss to Trump.

After being routed by Biden in Michigan and other primaries on Tuesday, Sanders seemed to signal he was less interested in attacking Biden personally and more intent on pushing him to address issues such as universal healthcare coverage, college affordability, climate change and poverty.