Bernie Sanders to hold post-Super Tuesday rally in Phoenix
PHOENIX (AP) — Bernie Sanders will campaign in Phoenix on Thursday as he looks to recapture the momentum that powered his strong finishes in early states before he met a surging Joe Biden in South Carolina and Super Tuesday contests.
The Vermont senator's rally at Arizona's state fairgrounds will be his first since Biden grabbed the lead in delegates on Tuesday, effectively turning the race into a two-man contest.
Arizona's primary is March 17, but time is crucial as Sanders looks to shore up support in the state where the overwhelming majority of voters cast a ballot by mail. Ballots went out weeks ago and many have already been returned.
Outside the Coliseum venue at the fairgrounds, hundreds of people lined up well in advance of the event on a sunny and warm late-winter day to get good spots for the evening event. Many in the crowd were decked out in blue “Bernie” T-shirts or carrying campaign signs.
Among them was Gavin Goodman, 16, an avid Sanders supporter despite not being old enough to vote, and his 72-year-old grandfather, Alan Goodman, who is open to any Democrat who can beat President Donald Trump in November.
“I believe it’s been a long time since someone has really shown class consciousness,” the younger Goodman said, latching onto Sanders' mantra that corporations are running government at the expense of the working class. “Especially with Trump in office right now and giving tax cuts for the rich, and they’re acting like oh, these are going to be tax cuts for the working class.”
Alan Goodman said he felt the vibe of his youth in the crowd of Sanders supporters.
“It reminds me a lot of the ‘60s when young people were together fighting for the right to get out of the war,” he said. “And now it is the guy in the White House – we need to get him out of there.”
Trump packed the facility last month, and it wasn't clear if Sanders could do the same.
Arizona Democrats got a rare taste of victory in 2018, when Kyrsten Sinema won a U.S. Senate seat and three other Democrats won statewide offices — an unheard of finish in the state where Republicans have dominated. The success has drawn intense focus from Democratic operatives and donors who see Arizona as a potential pickup opportunity in November. Trump won the state by 3.5 points in 2016.
In the Democratic primary that year, Sanders won 42% of the vote in a match-up with eventual nominee Hillary Clinton, who won 57%.
This year, Sanders has performed well among Latinos, who make up a third of Arizona's population. But he has struggled with older voters and suburbanites, which could be problematic in the sprawling retirement communities and sizable suburbs that ring Phoenix and Tucson.
He began airing an Arizona-focused ad Tuesday that warns of the ravages of climate change, part of a post-Super Tuesday ad blitz in nine states with upcoming primaries. His campaign began ramping up its ground game in Arizona after his victory in Nevada last month.
Warren's campaign had scheduled a town hall meeting on Saturday in Mesa before she ended her campaign on Thursday following a disappointing showing earlier in the week. After ending his own campaign this week, Bloomberg endorsed Biden and is funding an anti-Trump operation in six battleground states, including Arizona, that are expected to be instrumental in the general election.
Biden has no public events scheduled in Arizona aside from a March 15 debate in Phoenix.