SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — On the eve of Super Tuesday, Sen. Bernie Sanders is taking his campaign to Utah, where he’s the Democratic front-runner but moderate rivals are jockeying to take advantage of the conservative state’s rare undercurrent of dissatisfaction with President Donald Trump.
Sanders spoke to a large, enthusiastic crowd ahead of his landslide win in the state’s 2016 Democratic caucus, and he’s expected to get a similar reception at the state fairgrounds on Monday morning.
While his moderate competitors like Mike Bloomberg have campaigned for voters in the middle in recent weeks, Salt Lake City is also home to a determined knot of liberals who helped Sanders beat Hillary Clinton four years ago.
“I think there’s a common misconception in one-party states like Utah that those who are in the minority party must be moderate somehow,” said Damon Cann, a political science professor at Utah State University. “Utah’s Democrats are not just wishy-washy Republicans … they are core progressives.”
Underscoring his fandom in Utah right before a series of delegate-rich states vote on Tuesday could be aimed at showing establishment skeptics he can compete in conservative areas, Cann said.
The Democratic primary is open in Utah, so voters can cast ballots regardless of party affiliation. Salt Lake County, the state’s most populous, has sent out nearly 333,000 mail-in ballots, and more than 40% were for the Democratic primary, according to the county clerk. That far outstrips the 22% of county voters who are registered Democrats.
That means there’s likely some moderate votes up for grabs in Utah, where a Republican majority hasn’t fully embraced Trump’s brash style and positions on immigration. But many of those voters are skeptical of the Vermont senator’s Democratic socialism.
That presents an opportunity for his competitors: The state’s lone congressional Democrat, U.S. Rep. Ben McAdams, has gone for Bloomberg. U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, a Democrat from Hawaii, and GOP candidate Bill Weld have also campaigned in recent days.
It remains to be seen whether that’s enough to put a serious dent in Sanders’ appeal and name recognition. One of the co-chairs of his Utah operation, the founder of Utah’s Black Lives Matter chapter, said Sanders brings energy and hope.
“We like Bernie because he has no filter. He goes hard on everything he does and he has been fighting for civil rights since the 1960s,” said Lex Scott.
And every delegate counts in the still tight nominating race where some Democrats remain concerned about Sanders’ electability.
Utah has 35 Democratic delegates, six superdelegates and 29 pledged. They’re awarded on a proportional basis.
