Sanders seeks repeat of 2016 performance in Oklahoma
Sean Murphy | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 4 years, 8 months AGO
FILE - In this Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020, file photo, Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaks at a primary night election rally in Columbia, S.C. Biden looks to turn his decisive win Saturday in South Carolina into momentum for his campaign heading into Super Tuesday. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
FILE - In this Sept. 22, 2019, file photo, Democratic presidential candidate U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders receives an honor blanket from Cornel Pewewardy at the annual Comanche Nation Fair Powwow, in Lawton, Okla. Sanders hopes Super Tuesday, March, 3, 2020, in Oklahoma will be a repeat of his performance four years ago, while the rest of the Democratic field hope to get a foothold in the Sooner State as voters in 14 states head to the polls.(AP Photo/Gerardo Bello, File)
FILE - In this Sunday, Dec. 22, 2019, file photo, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren reacts as she speaks during her campaign stop in Oklahoma City at Northwest Classen High School, her alma mater. Warren hopes her roots in the state will help propel her to success in Oklahoma on Super Tuesday. (Doug Hoke/The Oklahoman via AP, File)
FILE - In this Sunday, Jan. 19, 2020, file photo, Democratic presidential candidate and former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg waves to the crowd at the conclusion of his speech at the Greenwood Cultural Center in Tulsa, Okla. Bloomberg spent heavily on advertising and nearly two dozen field staffers in Oklahoma and has made multiple campaign stops in the Sooner State. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Bernie Sanders hopes Super Tuesday in Oklahoma will be a repeat of his performance four years ago, while the rest of the Democratic field hope to get a foothold in the Sooner State as voters in 14 states head to the polls.
Sanders won Oklahoma’s Democratic primary in 2016 and in September held a rally in Norman and visited a Comanche Nation powwow outside of Lawton. His wife, Jane Sanders, visited Tulsa and Tahlequah last week hoping to rally his base just days ahead of the primary.
At a polling place Tuesday morning in the Oklahoma City suburb of Edmond, James Dillon, 34, said Sanders was his choice.
“I think he’s truly for the people,” Dillon said. “He wants to turn things around in the right direction, getting income equality.”
Dillon also dismissed the idea that Sanders at the top of the Democratic ticket could hurt down ballot candidates such as U.S. Rep. Kendra Horn, the only Democrat among the Oklahoma congressional delegation and who has been targeted by Republicans.
Former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg spent heavily on advertising and nearly two dozen field staffers in Oklahoma and made multiple campaign stops in the Sooner State, including a January visit to Tulsa's historic Greenwood District, where he outlined an racial economic equality proposal aimed at increasing the number of black-owned homes and businesses.
Meanwhile, former Vice President Joe Biden looked to turn his decisive win Saturday in South Carolina into momentum for his campaign.
Early Tuesday, President Donald Trump urged Oklahomans to not support Bloomberg, saying in a tweet that Bloomberg would “kill your drilling, fracking and pipelines.”
Bloomberg and Biden both are targeting the Democratic Party's moderate lane, especially after Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar suspended their campaigns in recent days. Buttigieg, who ended his campaign on Sunday, and Klobuchar, who dropped out Monday, both had previously planned campaign stops in Oklahoma on Monday.
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who grew up in Oklahoma City and held a December rally here, hoped her roots in the state would help propel her to success in Oklahoma.
Polls are open statewide on Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
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Associated Press writer Ken Miller contributed to this report from Edmond.