The Latest: Warren promoting child care plan, wealth tax
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Latest on the 2020 presidential campaign (all times local):
11:15 a.m.
Elizabeth Warren is pitching her universal child care plan and jabbing at her wealthy rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination as she begins a day of campaigning in Las Vegas.
About 30 people, mostly women, packed into a handful of tables to sip coffee and eat pastries at a reggae and cocktail bar to hear the Massachusetts senator.
Warren promoted her child care plan that would be paid for by a tax of 2 cents on every dollar for fortunes of more than $50 million.
She says it could help mothers finish their education and would benefit the economy. She doesn’t think every billionaire would go along with the so-called wealth tax.
Warren says "billionaires have gone on TV and cried. Others have run for president.” That line — which drew laughs and applause — was an apparent reference to 2020 rivals Mike Bloomberg and Tom Steyer.
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11 a.m.
Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg is opening seven new campaign offices in Florida, bringing the total number to 10 throughout the state.
Offices in Fort Lauderdale, Gainesville, Sanford, Sarasota, Tallahassee, Tampa and West Palm Beach opened Saturday.
The former New York mayor already had offices in St. Petersburg, Orlando, and the Little Havana area of Miami.
Campaign officials say 10 additional offices will open in coming weeks, as will a statewide campaign headquarters in Tampa. Bloomberg has been blanketing the TV airwaves with ads in Florida.
The Florida primary is March 17.
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9:45 a.m.
Democrats are starting to cast votes in Nevada’s presidential caucuses as the still-crowded field of candidates is fanning out across Las Vegas.
Early voting started Saturday morning at more than 80 locations across the state. Nevada Democrats are holding four days of early voting for their caucuses, the first test of a candidate’s appeal to a diverse population with strong labor unions.
Early votes cast on paper ballots will be added to in-person caucus votes made on Feb. 22, when Democrats will attend about 2,000 precinct meetings around the state.
This year, with the results of Iowa's caucuses muddled by technology and reporting problems, Nevada is under pressure to pull off a problem-free caucus. The Nevada State Democratic Party abandoned its original plans to use an app like the one that caused trouble in Iowa and has scrambled to come up with a new system to tabulate results.
Candidates are making a get-out-the-vote push with rallies and town halls Saturday, followed by appearances Saturday night at a fundraising gala for the Las Vegas-based Clark County Democratic Party.