Former President Bill Clinton urged voters to support Hillary Clinton at a campaign rally at Sunnyside High School on Sunday, saying she is the only person with the vision and the experience in the race to be president.
An estimated 1,400 people attended the rally, though roughly 200 people were turned away from entering the gym and had to listen from outside.
An all-star lineup of local Democrats participated in the rally just days before the stateβs Presidential Preference Election on Tuesday, with former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, her husband, Mark Kelly, former Rep. Ron Barber and Tucson Mayor Jonathan Roths-child joining Clinton on the stage.
Civil Rights activist Dolores Huerta spoke to the crowd, praising Hillary Clinton as a strong supporter of the Hispanic community.
βHillary has always been there for us. Every single time,β Huerta said before leading the crowd in a chant of βSi, se puedeβ (Yes, you can).
Clinton vowed that his wife, if elected, wouldnβt deport an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants and would work across the aisle to finally address the countryβs broken immigration system.
The core issue discussed over and over by various speakers was curbing gun violence.
Giffords spoke only briefly, but made a forceful argument on the subject of control.
βHillary is courageous; she will work to make our families safer,β Giffords told the crowd.
Kelly said Clinton was the only one to stand up to the gun lobby.
βFor too long, Congress has been in the gun lobbyβs grip,β Kelly said, noting the NRA doesnβt represent gun owners like him or Gabby.
Clinton said the former secretary of state will work to pass stricter background checks for guns, but conceded her battle with the gun lobby will be a harder fight than when Congress passed the Brady Bill while he was president.
He wrapped up his speech by saying her plans pencil out, while other campaigns are making huge claims, but donβt have the math worked out.
βMy argument for Hillary is simple,β he said. βShe is the only candidate for president whose numbers add up.β
Diana Leon and Robert Deleon lined up at 9:30 in the morning, grabbing a spot at the front of the line.
Mateo Garcia said, βI love the Clintons. Iβve supported them since β92.β
Partly for Hillary Clintonβs foreign-policy experience and partly because Garcia believes she has the βbiggest possibility of getting things done and changed,β he was excited to hear her husband speak.
βSheβs going to crucify (Trump) in the debate,β Garcia said.
Jessica Estrada, Mikke Kilts and Barb White all turned up at the Clinton rally to, βas Ruth Bader Ginsburg says, βremind women not to take their rights for granted.ββ
The rally wasnβt as contentious as Saturdayβs Trump rally at the TCC, although there were several protesters.
Protester Barbara Cih-lar held a sign that read: βNo Clinton. No Trump. Both = 1% Vote Sanders.β
A protester who identified himself only as Daniel held a sign that misspelled Massachusetts and accused the former president of breaking the stateβs voting laws.
βIβm just trying to bring some awareness to some people,β he said, arguing that Bill Clintonβs deregulation of Wall Street helped create the 2008 recession.
βIβm voting for Bernie Sanders,β he said. βGo Bernie!β