Bloomberg, Sanders pitching voters on competing visions to oust Trump
Mike Bloomberg and Sen. Bernie Sanders brought their presidential campaigns Saturday to Northern Virginia, arriving with starkly competing visions for how to successfully lead Democrats to unseat President Donald Trump.
The former New York mayor opened his day addressing an older crowd of hundreds gathered for a “Women for Mike” rally in a ballroom in McLean in the morning, making the case he had the necessary resources and appeal to win moderate and Republican voters.
The Sanders rally in the late afternoon in Springfield was a far more energetic affair, with thousands lining up outside to enter the field house of a sports center, and some parking as far as a mile away. Inside, a reggae band warmed up the crowd and cheering supporters holding “Bernie” signs greeted people as they walked in.
Virginia is one of 14 states holding nominating contests on Super Tuesday, and is the fourth-largest behind California, Texas and North Carolina.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., campaigned in Falls Church on Friday and in Richmond on Saturday.
Recent polls show former vice president Joe Biden leading the pack in Virginia, with Bloomberg and Sanders, I-Vt., within striking distance. Biden is scheduled to campaign in Norfolk on Sunday, the day after the South Carolina primary.
Biden on Friday picked up the endorsement of Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., the Democratic vice presidential nominee in 2016. Another Democrat, former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, announced Saturday evening he would endorse Biden, shortly after the candidate was projected to handily win the South Carolina primary.
Bloomberg supporters munching on complementary fruit skewers, croissants and granola bars at the hotel rally largely had nice things to say about Biden. But they said they have lost confidence in the former vice president to lead the party to victory.
“We would be Biden fans if we thought he was close to getting the nomination, but his time has passed, and he doesn’t have his soul in it,” said Ken Daigler, a 70-yearold District resident who came to the rally with his wife. “He’s just not campaigning with the vigor he needs.”
Other voters, including John Estrella, a 49-year-old human rights lawyer from Falls Church, have been impressed by the strength of the Bloomberg campaign apparatus, especially after Biden’s disappointing finishes in the first three nominating contests.
“We’re single-issue voters, and that’s to get rid of Donald Trump,” said Estrella, who came to the rally with his wife and two young boys in tow. “Bloomberg’s machine is tight. It’s one of the best machines I’ve seen in more than 30 years of closely following politics.”
Since making a late entry into the race in November, Bloomberg has spent more than $400 million of his personal fortune on advertising, on hiring organizers and operatives across the country, and on developing a network of endorsers that includes scores of mayors and House members in vulnerable districts.
He skipped the early state contests and is counting on a strong showing on Super
Tuesday to set himself up as the moderate alternative to Sanders. The primary voting Tuesday will be especially important for Bloomberg after a poor showing in his debut on the debate stage, when rivals tore into his past comments about women and the effects on people of color of the stopand-frisk policy used by New York police.
“I’ve never worked in Washington. I don’t make pie-in-the-sky promises. And as you’ve seen in the debates, I’m not someone who just yells slogans even when they’re not true,” Bloomberg said Saturday morning. “We need a leader who is ready to be commander in chief, not chief college debater in chief.”
In the afternoon at the Sanders event, Khalid Thahir, an 18-year-old high school senior, said Sanders’ focus on higher education drew him to the senator. Thahir is planning to enroll in a two-year community college before transferring to a four-year university, in part because he is worried about cost. That’s a change from a generation ago, when his father was able to attend the University of Southern California without significant debt preventing him from starting a business.
“It’s a scary thing going out to the real world, and it wasn’t as exciting as it was in my father’s generation,” Thahir said.
Yasmine Benderson, a 19-year-old college student from Rockville, Maryland, said she understood some older Democrats’ reflexive response to dismiss free college.
“You have to remember they are coming from an age where they could go to college for a few hundred bucks,” said Benderson, who attended the rally with her friend from high school.