By Kit Norton/VTDigger
Sen. Bernie Sanders will be in Vermont on Super Tuesday.
As the results from primary contests in 14 states across the country roll in, Sanders will hold a rally at the Champlain Valley Exposition location in Essex Junction on the evening of March 3, his campaign announced Tuesday. Seven Days first reported on the Vermont senator’s plans.
In a statement, the campaign said Sanders will return to his home state next week to cast his ballot in Vermont’s Democratic primary and then hold a rally that night with volunteers and supporters as results come in.
Sanders also had a Super Tuesday rally at the Champlain Exp location in 2016 during his first presidential run.
The Vermont senator is expected to perform well in many of the states on Super Tuesday, including in delegate-rich Texas and California.
Sanders is coming off last week’s resounding win in the Nevada caucuses, victory in New Hampshire and a top two finish in Iowa. He is currently neck and neck with former Vice President Joe Biden in South Carolina, which will be voting on Saturday, Feb. 29, according to recent polls.
The Vermont independent is leading in California, which has 416 delegates, Texas, where 228 delegates are up for grabs. Sanders is also in a dead heat with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., in Massachusetts, where 91 delegates are at stake.
Vermont, with its 16 delegates, is expected to overwhelmingly vote for Sanders, but there may be a fight among other candidates to reach the 15% threshold needed to steal some of those delegates away.
According to a recent VPR-Vermont PBS poll, Sanders has 51% support in the state, former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg is second with 13%, Warren is third with 9%, and billionaire former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is fourth with 7%.
