Stumping in CT
Three Presidential candidates were in our area for rallies over the weekend in anticipation of the Connecticut primary on Tuesday. On Saturday, Donald Trump held a rally at the Klein Auditorium in Bridgeport and reassured his supporters that he will continue to be the Trump they know and love. On Sunday, Hillary was in town at the University of Bridgeport, holding a rally where she reiterated her message on jobs, equal pay and the minimum wage, and taking on the gun lobby, as she had done in her prior campaign events here in Connecticut. Bernie Sanders was in New Haven on Sunday evening holding a rally on the Green where a reported 14,000 people showed up to hear his message on economic inequality and the rigged economy – just another indication of his unflagging support among Democratic voters even in the face of the daunting mathematical challenge of actually winning the nomination.
Current polling shows Trump with an overwhelming lead here in the Nutmeg state. But Connecticut has a closed primary which will keep disaffected Democrats and Independents from voting in the Republican primary. Because of that, and the fact that Kasich is probably the choice of the country-club Republican crowd, I would expect Trump to underperform and Kasich to overperform what the polls currently show. But it will still be a big win for Trump.
On the Democratic side, there is a real possibility of an upset here for Sanders. Again, however, the closed primary will hurt him in that Independents can not vote, while Clinton will probably rack up big wins in the major cities, especially Bridgeport, Hartford, and Waterbury. The fact that Hillary has made three stops here and the Big Dog (Bill Clinton) will be in Connecticut today indicate that the Clinton campaign thinks this is closer than the polls indicate.
An upset here in Connecticut, along with a projected win in Rhode Island, would be surely be enough to keep the Sanders campaign going strong. My belief is that Bernie should stay in it all the way to the end as the issues he is raising are important to the future of the Democratic party and the progressive movement as a whole. And, as the Times indicates today, he is already beginning to focus on shaping the agenda of the Democratic Party going forward.
And, personally, it’s nice to be able to have a presidential primary vote that actually might have some resonance – usually, the battle has been won by the time Connecticut gets to vote! So make sure you take advantage of this opportunity and get to the polls tomorrow.