One day before Nevada Democrats caucus to nominate a president, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton made their final pushes in the newly-competitive state.
Sen. Sanders campaigned Friday in Elko, Sparks and Henderson. In Sparks, he gave his regular stump speech, which lasted nearly an hour. He was interrupted briefly when a young woman in the audience needed medical attention.
"We need health care!" an audience member shouted as Sanders stepped away from the podium while medics treated the woman.
"And that's why health care must be a right for all people," Sanders said when he resumed his remarks.
Earlier in his speech, Sanders added an implicit attack on Clinton. While discussing Wall Street investment firm Goldman Sachs's large campaign contributions, he added: "They have also been known to pay rather generous speaking fees." Clinton has accepted $675,000 in speaking fees from Goldman Sachs.
Secretary Clinton held several events Friday in Las Vegas. Her campaign also dispatched former President Bill Clinton to Reno to rally volunteers at her campaign headquarters.
Former President Bill Clinton shakes hands with supporters after speaking at a rally for his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, at her campaign headquarters in Reno.Ben Adler / Capital Public Radio
The former president spoke for roughly 15-minutes -- and he, too, offered an implied criticism without mentioning Sen. Sanders by name.
"Hillary's opponent jumped all over me (Thursday) night (at a televised town hall), talked about how bad I'd been for African Americans and poor people," Bill Clinton said. "Well, let me just say this -- that campaign has been remarkably fact-free. And a lot of the numbers don't add up!
In their only mention of local politics, Sanders and Bill Clinton both criticized the Nevada Public Utilities Commission for its decision last month to roll back a key incentive program for rooftop solar.
While polling in Nevada is notoriously unreliable, a CNN survey earlier this week showed Hillary Clinton with a narrow lead. The Sanders campaign has said it believes it has a chance of winning the caucuses with a strong turnout from its supporters.
Caucus doors open at 11am Saturday, with the actual process beginning at noon.
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