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| - Progressive rising star Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was named Wednesday as a co-chair of a new task force aimed at unifying the party's more liberal wing with moderates in support of White House hopeful Joe Biden. "A united party is key to defeating Donald Trump this November and moving our country forward through an unprecedented crisis," Biden said. The 77-year-old former vice president made his announcement in a joint statement with Bernie Sanders, the progressive champion who also ran for president but ended his campaign in April and endorsed Biden. Sanders commended his formal rival "for working together with my campaign to assemble a group of leading thinkers and activists who can and will unify our party in a transformational and progressive direction." The pair announced multiple working groups to address issues including climate change, health care, the economy and immigration. They feature prominent Democratic lawmakers including several who had endorsed Sanders for president. Also joining the task force are figures like former secretary of state and early Biden supporter John Kerry, who will co-chair the climate change task force with congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez. Sanders, 78, is further left than Biden and is notably more popular among young people, a constituency Biden will need to rally to the polls if he is to defeat Trump in November. Ocasio-Cortez, who at 30 is the party's most visible young progressive, and other task force co-chairs will present their policy recommendations to Biden and the Democratic Party ahead of its national nominating convention in August. Biden leads in national polls against Trump, but the race appears to be tighter in battleground states which often determine the outcome of the presidential race. elc-mlm/dw
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