The Democratic presidential candidate plans three rallies in Washington state Sunday, including one at KeyArena in Seattle, before next week’s Democratic caucuses.
Follow our live updates of Bernie Sanders’ rally at the KeyArena.
Sen. Bernie Sanders is headed to Washington state Sunday for three rallies to whip up support for his presidential campaign before next week’s Democratic caucuses.
Sanders will hold a Seattle rally at 5 p.m. at KeyArena, with doors opening at 2 p.m., his campaign announced. Before that, he’ll be at a 1 p.m. rally at Hudson’s Bay High School in Vancouver. After the Seattle event, he’ll head to the Spokane Convention Center for a 9 p.m. rally.
The events are free and open to the public, but admission will be first come, first served, and the Sanders campaign urged people interested to RSVP at his website (https://go.berniesanders.com/page/event/detail/rally/4gw7j).
The Vermont senator, who this week fell further behind former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the race for the presidential nomination, is pinning his hopes on regaining some momentum as the race looks west.
Washington Democrats will allocate 101 delegates based on caucus results March 26. Hawaii and Alaska will also hold Democratic caucuses the same day.
Sanders could badly use a big win. Clinton bolstered her delegate lead with five victories Tuesday, including a key win in Ohio. To take the Democratic nomination, Sanders would have to win two-thirds of the remaining delegates, according to an Associated Press analysis.
Sanders has shown signs of strength in Washington state, especially in the Seattle area. Local volunteers have been organizing since last year, preparing the way for his official campaign, which sent out 20 paid staffers earlier this month.
The Clinton campaign has conceded Sanders may prevail in Washington’s caucuses, citing his enthusiastic support here. But Clinton aides say she will compete here and is well on the road to winning the nomination.
Clinton’s campaign has had paid organizers in Washington since January and boasts the support of top elected leaders, including Gov. Jay Inslee and the entire Democratic congressional delegation. On Wednesday, King County Executive Dow Constantine added his endorsement.
Clinton’s full plans for caucus week are not known, but she is scheduled to attend a high-priced fundraiser at the Medina home of Costco co-founder Jeff Brotman. No public events have been announced.
Sanders last visited Seattle in August, when he drew huge crowds of supporters to a University of Washington rally, but Black Lives Matter activists shut down an earlier speech at Westlake Park.