Presidential candidates campaign in Arizona before Tuesday primaries
Mar 20, 2016, 5:43 PM | Updated: 5:49 pm
Presidential candidates visited Arizona this weekend ahead of the Democratic and Republican primaries Tuesday.
Donald Trump
In what many wouldn’t consider a surprise, it was an eventful weekend in Arizona when candidate Donald Trump visited ahead of the Republican primary on Tuesday.
Like many recent events surrounding Trump, the story of Saturday would be protesters.
The main road leading to Trump’s rally in Fountain Hills, Shea Boulevard, had two lanes blocked by protesters.
The group of roughly two dozen protesters delayed the road for miles. The road was eventually cleared and attendees were able to arrive at the event. The three main individuals involved in the blockade were arrested for obstructing a public thoroughfare, according to Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.
After arriving an hour late to the rally at Fountain Park, Trump spoke to more than 10,000 supporters. Those alongside Trump were former Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer and Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
Trump urged the crowd in Fountain Hills to go vote Tuesday and said “I will never let you down.”
“We have a silent majority that’s no longer so silent,” Trump said.
Trump day ended at a rally in Tucson where, once again, the story was a protester.
This time, however, the result was much more violent.
While in the process of being thrown out of the rally, a protester was punched and kicked several times by another man from the stands.
The man who assaulted the protester is being charged with assault.
Trump said protesters at his rally are “taking away our First Amendment rights” and vowed to take the country back if he’s elected president.
Hillary Clinton
Clinton was the only one of the four major candidates to not speak in Arizona this weekend. She is scheduled to be in Arizona on Monday.
Her husband, Bill Clinton, spoke at two separate events in Arizona Sunday.
“She’s the best qualified person for this moment in time,” Clinton said at Sunnyslope High School in Tucson.
“She’s got a plan to make college debt free and to allow the people to already have debt to consolidate it and pay it off as a tiny percentage of their income over 20 years so it will not stop them,” Clinton said.
Before ending his speech, Clinton was met with raucous applause when asking the supporters if they would rise together.
Bernie Sanders
Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders had a busy weekend in Arizona, traveling throughout the entire city over the past few days.
Sanders’ main visit was to the Arizona-Mexico border in Nogales.
Touring the border here in Nogales, Arizona. I'm struck by the fear and sadness that grips so many families. pic.twitter.com/QjsG9iN9sp
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) March 19, 2016
The Vermont senator promised that, if elected, he would “take executive action to allow all undocumented people who have been in the United States for at least five years to stay in the county without fear of being deported”.
Sanders spoke having Arizona Rep. Raúl Grijalva, Cook County commissioner Jesús “Chuy” Garcia from Illinois and Santa Cruz County Sheriff Tony Estrada by his side. Sanders hopes his performance during the Arizona primary will reflect his campaigning throughout the state.
Speaking at the border, Sanders added that Pope Francis has said we should be building more bridges, not more walls. This quote is indirectly referring to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s desire to build a wall at the Arizona-Mexican border.
Sanders also cited a report stating that he has more votes from individuals under the age of 30 than fellow Democrat Hillary Clinton and Trump combined.
The senator urged his supporters that his campaign is “telling the truth”.
At a rally later that night in Phoenix, Sanders told hundreds of supporters that “the concept of democracy is not complicated” and cited a report that he has more votes from individuals under the age of 30 than Hillary Clinton and Trump combined.
Ted Cruz
Like Sanders, Cruz spent some of his visit on the Arizona border with Mexico.
“President Obama tells us the border’s secure. Well, I invite him to move the White House down to the southern border.” Cruz said at the Arizona border Friday.
The Republican presidential candidate said that he would “solve this problem and the border will be secure.”
The focus was still on the border for Cruz at his event Friday night.
“We know how to solve it,” Cruz said at his Phoenix rally. “The difference is as president, I will secure the border.”
Like all the other candidates, Cruz wanted the people to go out and vote on Tuesday and believed that it will make a difference.
“If enough people come out on election day to counterbalance the early numbers we’re going to do really, really well,” Cruz said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
