The long odds facing Bernie Sanders did nothing Thursday night to deter thousands of supporters packing the Chico State campus to see the Vermont Senator.
An adoring North State crowd gave Bernie Sanders a welcome as warm as yesterday’s sweltering heat as the feisty Democratic candidate fired off missives against injustice, inequality and influence-peddling.
He predicted that supporters working to the hilt could generate the highest voter turnout in a California primary, and victories elsewhere will arm him with a strong hand at the upcoming convention in Philadelphia.
“If we come out with the Democratic nomination, let me assure every person here, Donald Trump will not become President of the United States,” he said.
Touching on familiar themes, with his voice at times cracking with fatigue, Sanders railed against the outsized influence of the wealthy and powerful, those ridiculing climate change as a hoax, racism, those who would ban abortion, and a rigged economy. Sanders urged pay equality for women and universal Medicare and reforms to criminal justice, along with easing student debt.
Sanders also drew contrasts with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, comparing the eight million small donations his campaign has received to Clinton’s fundraising prowess, intimating that those funds come with strings attached.
“Seems to me that our job is to take on Wall Street, not take their money,” he said.
Hillary Clinton enjoys a 270 delegate lead going into Tuesday’s Primary contests when Democrats in California and five other states vote. A total of 806 delegates will be chosen Tuesday.
Donald Trump appears in the North State today, with an event at the Redding Municipal Airport at 1 p.m. .
