On the trail: Sanders and Biden turn to the Midwest as next round of
contests loom
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[March 07, 2020]
DETROIT (Reuters) - U.S. Democratic
presidential candidates Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders will campaign in
the Midwest on Saturday, as the two prepare for a showdown in Michigan,
Missouri and four other nominating contests next week.
Sanders, who was until recently the front-runner in the party's race to
face Republican President Donald Trump in November, is trying to regain
momentum after Biden received a rush of endorsements from party
establishment figures following his strong 'Super Tuesday' showing this
week.
He has ramped up attacks on Biden in recent days, including at a rally
in Detroit on Friday night, where he criticized the former vice
president's voting record on the Iraq war and trade deals.
The two White House hopefuls will face off on Tuesday in Idaho,
Mississippi, Missouri, Washington state, North Dakota, and Michigan,
where a big win for Biden would deliver a major blow to Sanders' hopes
of becoming the nominee.
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SANDERS FOCUSES ON MICHIGAN
On Saturday, Sanders begins a weekend of campaigning in the crucial
battleground state of Michigan, which offers 125 of the 1,991 delegates
needed to win the nomination.
Sanders, a U.S. senator from Vermont, will hold a rally in the Detroit
suburb of Dearborn, and a town hall focused on racial and economic
justice in Flint. On Sunday he is set to visit Grand Rapids and Ann
Arbor.
Speaking to a crowd of more than 6,000 in downtown Detroit on Friday,
Sanders, 78, continued to assail Biden for voting for the war in Iraq
and trade deals, including the North American Free Trade Agreement,
which he said had cost millions of American jobs in Michigan and other
battleground states.
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![](../images/030720pics/news_m23.jpg)
U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders speaks during
a rally in Detroit, Michigan, U.S.,March 6, 2020. REUTERS/Lucas
Jackson
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"Now, if we are going to defeat Trump in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and
Wisconsin, it will be very hard for a candidate who voted for these
disastrous trade deals," Sanders said.
Sanders questioned whether Biden could generate enough energy and
enthusiasm to prevail against Trump. But he also called Biden a
friend, and said both were in agreement that they would support the
other against Trump should the other win the nomination.
BIDEN CAMPAIGNS IN MISSOURI
Biden, 77, is expected to campaign on Saturday in St. Louis and
Kansas City, where he is scheduled to be joined by U.S.
Representative Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri, a former Congressional
Black Caucus chairman who endorsed Biden in September.
Showing continued momentum following his Super Tuesday wins, Biden's
campaign said on Friday it had raised about $22 million in five
days.
"What we can't let happen is (to) let this primary become a negative
bloodbath," Biden said on Friday, adding that he was going to
consider how to respond to an increasingly adversarial campaign run
by Sanders.
(Reporting by Michael Martina and Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by
Edwina Gibbs)
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