Clinton cancels appearances in New Jersey to try to win
back support ahead of California's June 7 primary
http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/05/31/clinton-scrambles-california-sanders-challenges-nations-biggest-prize
As Bernie Sanders launched a campaign blitz in California
on Monday ahead of the state's June 7 primary, his presidential rival Hillary
Clinton found herself cancelling
appearances in New Jersey to catch up with him.
Clinton skipped out on plans to campaign in the Garden
State on Wednesday and Thursday in favor of a five-day tour through California,
where some recent
polls have seen her lead on Sanders shrink to a dead heat—though others
have put her a few points ahead.
California will be the nation's biggest primary, where 475
delegates are at stake.
Sanders on Monday held a 20,000-person rally in
Oakland—which was briefly
disrupted by animal rights activists—where he touched on his central
campaign platforms, including universal healthcare and free college tuition,
and told the crowd, "If we can win here in California, our largest state,
one of our most progressive states, we will go into the Democratic Convention
with a great deal of momentum and we will come out with the nomination."
"In virtually every state and national poll, we do
much better against Trump than does Secretary Clinton," he added.
In fact, Trump and Clinton ranked nearly even in a new national
poll released Tuesday, with Clinton's lead in the hypothetical general
matchup dwindling over the past week, while Sanders has maintained a 12-point
lead over the presumptive Republican nominee.
Sanders' appearance in Oakland comes on the heels of a
series of massive rallies across Southern California, including in Santa
Barbara, Santa Maria, and Bakersfield. One supporter told
the Los Angeles Times, "Bernie just says what relates to us. He
doesn't try to relate to us, he gets us."
No matter what happens in California, where Clinton also
secured Governor Jerry Brown's endorsement this week, Sanders reiterated
that he would stay in the race until the nominating convention in Philadelphia
in July.
Clinton "has received obviously a whole lot of
superdelegate support, no question about that," Sanders said. "A lot
more than I have. But superdelegates don't vote until they’re on the floor of
the Democratic convention. That's when they vote." He said he would focus
on reminding superdelegates that he is the most formidable candidate against
Trump.
"We're going to go in with momentum and we're going to
come out with the Democratic nomination," he said.
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