Hillary Clinton has declined an invitation to a Fox News debate with Bernie Sanders before the California primary June 7.
In a statement released Monday evening, Clinton communications director Jennifer Palmieri said, "We believe that Hillary Clinton's time is best spent campaigning and meeting directly with voters across California and preparing for a general election campaign that will ensure the White House remains in Democratic hands."
Sanders had been pushing for the debate, and in a statement said he hopes "Secretary Clinton reconsiders her unfortunate decision to back away from her commitment to debate. I would also suggest that Secretary Clinton may want to be not quite so presumptuous about thinking that she is a certain winner. In the last several weeks, the people of Indiana, West Virginia, and Oregon have suggested otherwise." Bill Sammon, vice president and Washington managing editor for Fox News, echoed Sanders, and said the network is "disappointed that Secretary Clinton has declined our debate invitation. Especially given that the race is still contested and she had previously agreed to a final debate before the California primary."