'She can handle Donald Trump,' Rep. Keith Ellison says in endorsing Hillary Clinton

A day after Bernie Sanders pledged his support for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, one of Sanders' earliest and most loyal supporters, Minneapolis congressman Keith Ellison, offered the former first lady and secretary of state an enthusiastic endorsement.

Clinton is progressive enough to rally Democrats by supporting issues such as increasing the minimum wage and relieving student debt, Ellison said Wednesday. Equally important, she is tough enough to defeat Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee.

"She can handle Donald Trump," Ellison said. "She can beat him because she's going to stand up to him. This campaign season is particularly nasty. You need someone with some real steel in their spine. She's that person."

Ellison pointed to Clinton's 11 hours of testimony before a Republican-controlled committee that grilled her on her handling of the attack on a U.S. diplomatic compound in Libya when she was secretary of state. It was, according to Ellison, an example of her pressure under verbal fire. "We need someone who won't crack and who won't lose her temper to see it all the way through," he said.

Nearly a dozen Minnesota DFLers also shifted support to Clinton after Sanders' endorsement, including state Sen. Scott Dibble, DFL-Minneapolis, and state Rep. Carlos Mariani, DFL-St. Paul.

Ellison unabashedly campaigned for Sanders through the primary season. Now, he hopes his support of Clinton will set an example for reluctant Sanders backers. "I do hope that I can help people see that Hillary Clinton is a good candidate and will be a good president, particularly if they stay involved," he said.