Connecticut’s presidential primary is Tuesday, and presidential candidates from both parties campaigned throughout the state this weekend from Bridgeport to New Haven.
While Connecticut’s Republican primary is seen as a battle for delegates, a flood of new voters could give Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders a boost. At least some of the delegates in both the Republican primary and Democratic contest are awarded on a proportional basis.
On the Republican side there are 25 delegates up for grabs and three superdelegates. On the Democratic side there are 71 delegates and 55 of those are up for grabs.
On Sunday, Sanders focused on income inequality, campaign finance reform, and free college tuition on the New Haven green.
“We need to create the highest voter turnout for a Democratic primary in the history of Connecticut,” Sanders told the crowd.
Before taking the stage, Sanders told the New Haven Register that no matter the outcome Tuesday, he planned to continue campaigning until the convention.
In Bridgeport and Waterbury, Donald Trump told Connecticut voters that he’s not changing his pitch, after his chief adviser assured Republican officials their party’s front-runner would show more restraint while campaigning. The Associated Press and House Republican Leader Themis Klarides were there.
On Friday, Ohio Gov. John Kasich came to the state for a second time to make his pitch for a contested convention.
Kasich says he isn’t trying to win outright at this point. He is merely hoping to stop Trump from collecting the 1,237 delegates he needs for a first ballot endorsement. If there is a convention battle, Kasich is angling to snatch the party’s endorsement despite a virtually certain third-place finish in the primaries.
On Saturday, Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton returned to Connecticut for a conversation with home-care workers fighting for a $15-an-hour minimum wage. She was back in Bridgeport on Sunday and her husband will be at events in Hartford and New Haven on Monday.
The only presidential candidate not to visit Connecticut thus far is Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who comes in a distant third among likely Connecticut Republican voters.
