While Hillary Clinton campaigned and raised cash in New York City Wednesday, rival Sen. Bernard Sanders hit the stump in Wisconsin, seeking another upset win in the Midwestern state’s April 5 primary that would block the former first lady’s efforts to wrap up the Democratic presidential primary and move on to a general election campaign.
Mrs. Clinton’s speech in Harlem Wednesday afternoon — in which she again cast herself as the only Democrat truly qualified to be commander in chief — signals that the former secretary of state is bracing for a loss in Wisconsin next week and instead is turning her attention to New York. Mr. Sanders trails badly in the delegate count but, to the Clinton campaign’s chagrin, keeps racking up symbolic, momentum-building wins in states across the country.
The Vermont senator won the Idaho and Utah contests last week and won primaries in Alaska, Hawaii and Washington last weekend. The latest polling also shows him ahead in Wisconsin.
Specialists say a Sanders victory in Wisconsin likely wouldn’t change the overall trajectory of the race, but it would create a “less than ideal” situation for Mrs. Clinton — a situation in which she would go weeks without a victory in the Democratic primary process.
But analysts also say she’s right to focus more on New York than Wisconsin given her recent history of success in states with larger blocs of black and Latino voters, which tend to favor her.
“A Sanders win, or even a virtual tie, in Wisconsin would provide some additional momentum for his campaign and could help with fundraising, since Wisconsin is the only Democratic contest between March 26 and April 9,” said Eric T. Kasper, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. “The demographics of New York, and the fact that [Mrs. Clinton] represented the state in the Senate, make it likely she will do better there than in Wisconsin. If she loses Wisconsin, or barely wins here, it is less than ideal for her campaign.”
Still, the former secretary of state isn’t totally giving up on the Dairy State, with even a close loss moving her closer to the total number of delegates she needs to clinch the nomination.
Mrs. Clinton told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow Wednesday that she’ll be back in Wisconsin to campaign this weekend.
“We’re going to just keep working very hard to win every vote we can,” she said.
Mr. Sanders is counting on high voter turnout and strong backing in progressive strongholds such as Madison to carry him to victory in Wisconsin next Tuesday, and polling shows he’s poised for another win. A Marquette University Law School survey released Wednesday shows Mr. Sanders leading Mrs. Clinton 49 percent to 45 percent.
A loss in Wisconsin, while unlikely to make a significant difference in the delegate count, would once again give Mr. Sanders a rationale for continuing his campaign. He’s vowed to remain in the race all the way until the party convention in July.
He told supporters in Madison Wednesday that they need to keep fighting all the way to the White House.
“Everybody in this room knows that real change never takes place from the top down,” the senator said. “Not throughout our history, not throughout the history of the world. Real change only takes place when millions of people come together, stand up, fight back and say the status quo is simply no longer acceptable.”
While Mrs. Clinton targets New York, she’s still launching repeated attacks on Mr. Sanders.
During her Harlem speech, Mrs. Clinton took aim at Mr. Sanders’ perceived lack of foreign policy prowess, saying the senator is a “single-issue” candidate who cares only about income inequality and Wall Street reform and can’t be trusted with national security.
“We need a president who can do all parts of the job,” Mrs. Clinton said. “Protecting America’s national security can’t be an afterthought.”
Meanwhile, Mrs. Clinton’s high-priced fundraiser in New York City Wednesday night is fueling Mr. Sanders’ contention that she is too closely tied to the financial and political establishment.
“At the same time she’s at this Wall Street fundraiser, Bernie is talking with voters in Wisconsin tonight before Tuesday’s primary,” Sanders campaign manager Jeff Weaver said in an email to supporters.
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.
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