--- title: Jerry Brown Endorses Hillary Clinton vs. Bernie Sanders description: California Gov. Jerry Brown said he will vote for Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders in the state's Democratic primary next week canonical: https://time.com/4352131/california-primary-jerry-brown-hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders-endorsement/ author: Charlotte Alter article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-05-31T14:21:02.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T17:56:01.241Z article:section: Politics og:title: California Gov. Backs Hillary Clinton Over Bernie Sanders og:description: Calls for an end to Democratic infighting og:url: https://time.com/4352131/california-primary-jerry-brown-hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders-endorsement/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8761ad5770ec7a71/69889592196cf4e88f03bd0e/jerry-brown-california-clinton.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Jerry Brown og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: California Gov. Backs Hillary Clinton Over Bernie Sanders twitter:description: Calls for an end to Democratic infighting twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8761ad5770ec7a71/69889592196cf4e88f03bd0e/jerry-brown-california-clinton.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # California Gov. Jerry Brown Backs Hillary Clinton in Call for an End to Democratic Fight  by [Charlotte Alter](https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Senior Correspondent May 31, 2016 2:21 PM UTC  California Gov. Jerry Brown gestures as he speaks at the 91st Annual Sacramento Host Breakfast in Sacramento, Calif on May 18, 2016. California Gov. Jerry Brown gestures as he speaks at the 91st Annual Sacramento Host Breakfast in Sacramento, Calif on May 18, 2016.Rich Pedroncelli—AP  by [Charlotte Alter](https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Senior Correspondent May 31, 2016 2:21 PM UTC California Gov. Jerry Brown said Tuesday that [he will vote for Hillary Clinton](http://www.jerrybrown.org/an%5Fopen%5Fletter%5Fto%5Fcalifornia%5Fdemocrats%5Fand%5Findependents) over [Bernie Sanders](http://time.com/bernie-sanders-2016-campaign/) in the state’s Democratic primary next week, urging Democrats and independents in [an open letter](http://www.jerrybrown.org/an%5Fopen%5Fletter%5Fto%5Fcalifornia%5Fdemocrats%5Fand%5Findependents) to unite around Clinton and put an end to the party’s protracted and increasingly bitter nominating contest. Brown said Clinton has the “tenacity and skill to advance the Democratic agenda.” He also said he was “deeply impressed” with Sanders’ message, drawing a parallel between Sanders’ bid and his 1992 presidential campaign. (During a debate in that campaign, [Brown and Bill Clinton had an infamous clash about Hillary Clinton](https://youtu.be/iNl%5FdMVmuZQ), in which Bill Clinton said to Brown, “You’re not worth being on the same platform as my wife.”) But Brown noted Clinton is already leading by three million votes and hundreds of delegates, a lead he called “insurmountable.” Some polls have showed Clinton holding a comfortable lead over Sanders ahead of the June 7 primary, but a survey from the [Public Policy Institute](http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-sac-essential-politics-california-polls-clinton-sanders-democratic-primary-htmlstory.html) last week showed Clinton up by only two points, within the margin of error. Brown painted a Clinton candidacy as the best hope for stopping presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump, noting Trump has called climate change a “hoax,” promised to deport millions of immigrants and allow more nuclear proliferation. “This is no time for Democrats to keep fighting each other,” Brown said. “The general election has already begun.” “Next January, I want to be sure that it is Hillary Clinton who takes the oath of office, not Donald Trump,” he added. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4352131/california-primary-jerry-brown-hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders-endorsement/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4352131/california-primary-jerry-brown-hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders-endorsement/"},"headline":"California Gov. 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