New York (AFP) – Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders take their increasingly acrimonious battle for the Democratic White House nomination to a debate stage in Brooklyn on Thursday ahead of the key New York primary.
The former secretary of state holds a double-digit lead over the Vermont senator in the New York polls and needs a big win in next Tuesday’s primary after losing seven of the last eight contests to her leftist rival.
The Brooklyn-born Sanders, who calls himself a democratic socialist, is similarly hoping for a shock win in Clinton’s adopted home state to keep alive his dream of wresting the nomination from the Democratic frontrunner.
It makes for a dramatic showdown at the debate kicking off at 9:00 pm (0100 GMT Friday) in Brooklyn, the borough where Sanders was born and raised, and which Clinton has made her national campaign headquarters.
Addressing what his team said was a crowd of 27,000 in Manhattan on Wednesday, Sanders attacked Clinton for her ties to Wall Street, her support for trade deals that have cost US jobs and for the 2003 Iraq invasion.
“This is going to be a tough primary for us but when I look at the thousands of people who are here… I think that if we have a large voter turnout on Tuesday we’re going to win this state,” he told the giant rally in Washington Square.
Clinton is likely to drill Sanders on specifics about how he could enact his promise of political revolution.
“I have noticed that under the bright spotlight and scrutiny here in New York, Senator Sanders has had trouble answering questions,” she has said.
– Sick of lies –
The two campaigns have traded increasingly heated blows in recent days.
On Thursday Sanders disavowed a remark from a healthcare activist who railed against “corporate Democratic whores” at his rally the night before, targeting politicians who — like Clinton — back more incremental healthcare reforms.
Sanders tweeted that the phrase was “inappropriate and insensitive” after Clinton’s communications director Jennifer Palmieri demanded he do so, calling it “very distressing language.”
The activist, Paul Song, also apologized for being “insensitive” in referring to “some in Congress who are beholden to corporations and not us.”
Sanders, whose call for a revolution has ignited a passionate youth following, has questioned Clinton’s judgment and called her remarks about young voters “a little bit condescending.”
Clinton meanwhile has lashed out at Sanders over gun control and immigration reform. A video recently emerged of her snapping impatiently at an activist who accused her of accepting money from the fossil fuel industry.
“I’m so sick of the Sanders’ campaign lying about me. I’m sick of it,” she said.
Thursday’s debate, to be moderated by CNN, will be held at the Duggal Greenhouse, a fashionable venue that has hosted events for the likes of Alexander Wang and Lady Gaga in the Brooklyn Naval Yard.
– Decisive primary –
Clinton has a commanding advantage over Sanders with 1,790 delegates to his 1,113. A total of 2,383 delegates are needed to secure the Democratic nomination for the presidency in the party’s convention this summer.
There are 247 Democratic delegates up for grabs in the New York primary, where minorities and wealthy Democrats are likely to favor Clinton, although polls suggest that Sanders has cut into her lead among white males and young voters.
The state also attributes 44 superdelegates.
But the rules of the New York vote, in which only registered Democrats can take part, are likely to favor Clinton. Sanders has performed best in primaries that are open to independent voters.
The upshot is that New York, an overwhelmingly Democrat state whose primaries traditionally have little influence on presidential elections, may play its most decisive role in decades.
With Republican frontrunner Donald Trump potentially facing a contested nomination and Clinton a tighter national race than she would have liked, the votes on both sides could prove decisive.
Trump, the Manhattan tycoon, leads among New York Republican voters by 55 percent to Ohio Governor John Kasich’s 20 percent. Texas Senator Ted Cruz, who was roundly condemned for denigrating what he called “New York values”, has 19 percent, according to a recent Quinnipiac University poll.
While the Democrats debate, the Republican candidates will be guests at a Republican gala at a posh Manhattan hotel.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.