Billionaire Tom Steyer is campaigning in Nevada ahead of Saturday’s caucuses and brought a taco truck and mariachi band with him for an appearance over the weekend.
His campaign website said he would be attending the “poll party” where people could chat with the candidate and get free tacos.
A reporter tweeted about the event, saying the rally was outside the local culinary union:
LAS VEGAS – @TomSteyer’s campaign has hired a mariachi band and are giving out free tacos and cookies outside of the @Culinary226. A staffer says they’re not requiring voters to tell them who they’re voting for to get the free food. #FITW https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EQ1sFojUEAA9jeb.jpg
The union has been the focus of controversy after members of the 60,000-member organization said that Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) supporters “viciously attacked” the organization and working families after a policy leaflet surfaced that said Sanders’ Medicare for All plan could mean a loss of current health insurance plans.
The Associated Press (AP) interviewed Steyer supporters in Nevada, including Sister Alem Seghit, an immigrant from Ethiopia who said “she ranked Steyer as her top choice because she saw him on T.V. every day.”
Dennis Silver, 73, is a retired mail carrier from Sparks, Nevada, who worked for Sanders in 2016 but said after hearing Steyer speak he volunteered to work with his campaign in Nevada.
“All the other Democrats, they’ve just been fighting among themselves and that’s the worst thing we can do,” Silver said.
Steyer has expressed optimism about his chances in Nevada.
Steyer said in an AP report:
If I do well in Nevada, that is going to be a gigantic shock-the-world moment. If I do well in Nevada and do well in South Carolina, that’s a statement about the diverse Democratic coalition that people have to have.
Steyer said he believed the race currently is “absolutely wide open.”
Follow Penny Starr on Twitter