Bernie Sanders tells Tucson crowd of almost 7,000 he thinks he can win in AZ

Bernie Sanders told close to 7,000 people at a rally in Tucson Friday night that he thinks he can defeat fellow Democrat Hillary Clinton in Arizona’s presidential preference election on Tuesday.

Suggesting his supporters should consider dragging their friends and loved ones to the polls, Sanders said his campaign does better in states with large voter turnouts.

The Vermont senator said there are “cowardly” state legislatures and governors trying to suppress the vote. “We should make it easier to participate in the election process, not harder,” he said.

Taking the stage at the Tucson Convention Center shortly after 7:30 p.m., Sanders launched into his regular themes in a familiar hourlong stump speech, saying his campaign is supported by working families, not by Wall Street.

Sanders joked he is willing to release all of the speeches he gave to Wall Street — “zero” — as he pushes Clinton to release transcripts of her speeches. He said her super PAC has taken millions from Wall Street.

Many in the crowd booed at any mention of Clinton, the former secretary of state. She has not scheduled a Tucson visit in advance of Tuesday’s election, but former President Bill Clinton will campaign in Tucson on Sunday on her behalf. Doors open at 1:30 p.m. and he is expected to speak at 2:30 p.m. at Sunnyside High School, 1725 E. Bilby Road.

Democracy is not about billionaires buying elections, Sanders told his TCC audience, vowing to overturn the Citizens United high-court ruling that has drastically reshaped campaign finance laws.

Sanders said he’s proud of his support from younger voters, and jokingly tells them not to trust anyone under 30.

He warned of a “rigged economy” and said this generation will have a worse standard of living than their parents.

He railed against the Walton family that owns Walmart to get their workers off of welfare and to pay them a living wage.

On the topic of student debt, he asked: “Why are we punishing people for what we want them to do?”

Student debt levels are a crisis, he said, adding that he would allow the refinancing of that debt at the lowest rates possible.

Focusing on what he calls a broken criminal justice system, he said he will invest in jobs and education rather than jails.

“I think we are tired of seeing unarmed people being shot,” Sanders went on, saying we need to demilitarize local police departments.

Next, he was on to health-care issues. “One out of five people who go to a doctor and get a prescription, can’t afford to get it filled — that’s crazy,” he said. “Health care is a right, not a privilege.”

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Turning to energy issues, Sanders complained about energy companies and said Arizona should lead the U.S. in solar energy. He will push for “greener” solutions, he said.

Lamenting the failure to protect the residents of Flint, Michigan, from lead-tainted water, he suggested a public works program to rebuild the United States.

“Now is that moment when we look around us and say we can do much, much better,” he said.

Before Sanders took the stage, U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva introduced him, getting the crowd to boo at his mention of businessman Donald Trump, the Republican front-runner. Grijalva, a Tucson Democrat, told the crowd Trump “will bring hate to Tucson.” Trump will hold a rally at the Tucson Convention Center at 3 p.m. Saturday, March 19 — the time has changed since earlier announcements.

Later in the night, Grijalva urged any protesters planning to attend Trump’s rally here to use restraint.

“(Saturday) we are also celebrating Cesar Chavez day,” Grijalva said, reminding any protesters to honor Chavez’s legacy by being peaceful. “I don’t think the people that will be here to oppose Trump — and they have every right to be here — they are not going to be the instigators of anything,” he said.

“This campaign is far from over, my friends,” Grijalva, an early endorser of Sanders, told the Tucson audience.

Sanders’ fans started arriving early Friday, long before the doors opened.

Alice Ritter, who attended the rally as part of a group called Veterans for Peace, said Sanders is a candidate she can believe in.

“I like the way he talks straight,” said Ritter, who taught school in Vermont before she joined the Air Force.

Mark Blake, who thumbed through a novel as he waited for the candidate’s entrance, said Sanders reminds him of Robert Kennedy.

A loyal Democrat, Blake said he always votes. “I haven’t missed my chance to vote yet,” he said.

Citing time constraints, Sanders canceled all planned media interviews Friday night in Tucson. He will campaign in Phoenix on Saturday, March 19, and has also campaigned this week in Flagstaff and at the Phoenix Convention Center.

Trump will campaign in Fountain Hills in the Phoenix area on Saturday before coming to Tucson.

When Sanders visited Tucson last October, some 11,000 supporters overwhelmed Reid Park and lined up beyond the barriers of the amphitheater there.