Susan Walsh/AP Photo
Bernie Sanders, the Democratic presidential front-runner, arrives at a campaign rally in Springfield, Virginia, February 29, 2020.
SPRINGFIELD, VIRGINIA – The Bernie Sanders rally was not set to start until 4 p.m., but nearby parking lots were virtually full nearly an hour before. Among the Sanders surrogates speaking at the Saturday rally, hours before polls closed in South Carolina, were Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, Virginia Delegate Lee Carter, and Safeway worker Michelle Lee.
“I’m tired of people dismissing the campaign that we are building,” Omar said. “I’m a little upset that people think Bernie is angry and that that’s supposed to be a bad thing.” Omar added that there was “a time for righteous anger.”
Michelle Lee, a Safeway worker and member of UFCW Local 400, spoke to the crowd about Safeway’s unwillingness to pay the pension benefits it owes to workers, and an upcoming strike vote.
Carter, the hometown hero and only democratic socialist in the Virginia House of Delegates, garnered raucous cheering. With an online Twitter following of over 60,000, his reputation among Sanders supporters—especially in Virginia—precedes him.
Carter said that he got into politics because he got hurt on the job, and when he recovered, his boss said there was no work for him anymore. Emphasizing Sanders’s slogan “Not me, us,” Carter said, “[Sanders] is not going to do it himself. We’re doing it for him, fighting for Medicare for all, housing for all, education for all, good union jobs for all, and fighting for a country for all.”
Fresh off a rally in Boston, Sanders stuck to his stump speech in Springfield, speaking about familiar issues: housing, education and student debt, Medicare for All, the military-industrial complex, and gun safety. At one point, he took a jab at the president: “It’s not climate change that’s a hoax, you are a hoax,” he said. “Our administration will listen to science and the scientists.”
Pushing his supporters to get out on the ground to knock on doors and make phone calls, Sanders said that if their friends are complaining about student debt, climate change, or health care, “Tell them to stop complaining and get active.”
The campaign said around 10,000 people attended in Springfield. Ariana Islam attended a Sanders rally in 2016 in Fairfax, Virginia. “I feel more passionate. Last election, I kept saying that America wasn’t ready for a socialist,” said Islam. What Donald Trump “is giving rise to, I think, sheds light to a lot of Americans the abscesses of the American psyche is how hateful, how scary, and fearmongering the effect of it.”
For Niles Ayre, who wasn’t old enough to vote in the last election, it was his first rally. “What really convinced me was, a couple months ago, Joe Rogan endorsed him on his podcast,” he said. “I was undecided until then, but when he said Bernie’s the guy, I was convinced.” Ayre, who is from Northern Virginia, said he’s most worried about student debt.
Earlier in the day, at a Hilton hotel in McLean, Virginia, Mike Bloomberg supporters filled a ballroom. Behind the podium, risers held roughly a hundred women sporting “Women for Mike” T-shirts in blue and white and waving signs bearing the same message. The breakfast get-out-the-vote event offered flaky croissants, fruit, and coffee, which were available to supporters and press. The campaign was also giving out more T-shirts and pink buttons bearing the message “I’ve been a Woman for Mike since ___,” allowing the wearer to write in the date.
When Bloomberg arrived, he introduced himself, “Well good morning, women for Mike. I’m Mike for women, nice to meet you!” to laughs in the crowd. Describing himself as “the un-Trump,” Bloomberg pitched voters on his support for codifying Roe v. Wade, reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act, pushing for paid family leave, and giving more access to reproductive justice.
Reading from a teleprompter, the former New York City mayor emphasized his experience and ability to get things done. “This isn’t lip service, this is an actual track record,” Bloomberg said. “We need someone with a broad coalition, who attracts independents and moderates and Republicans. That’s what I’ve done in all three races I’ve run and I’ve won them all.”
Addressing the theme, a dicey one for someone with multiple sexual harassment and discrimination cases against him and his company, Bloomberg said, “All of my success, everything that I’ve done, is thanks to the strong women on this campaign.”
One supporter carried a tan canvas bag with gold lettering that read, “Make America Love Again,” with a “Mike Bloomberg 2020” pin affixed to the outside. Another woman brought her fluffy white dog, who was wearing a “Mike Bloomberg 2020” shirt.
“I’ve been supporting Mike for two weeks and my blood pressure went down—no, really, I think he’s an American hero,” said Roberta Russell, a New York City resident and the dog’s owner. “I like his policies. He’s a fair, honest man. You can trust him. He’s a genius. He really is a genius.”
Hundreds of people attended the speech. Afterward, attendees gathered outside the ballroom looking for staffers with clipboards. Slowly, they fanned out into Virginia neighborhoods to canvass for Bloomberg, for the first primary day where he will actually be on the ballot.
“I was getting so frustrated with the other candidates in the debates, where everything was going. I’m a big supporter of Moms Demand Action,” said Pamela Lamoreaux, a resident of the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Bloomberg’s strength among gun violence prevention activists will likely help him in the Commonwealth. Virginia’s legislature flipped blue last November, and Virginia voters said their most important issue was gun violence prevention. Bloomberg’s financial support on the issue, particularly through Everytown for Gun Safety, likely helped in the legislature.
Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo
“Women for Mike” at Saturday’s campaign event in McLean, Virginia
In another Northern Virginia city—Alexandria—former Vice President Joe Biden’s campaign was hosting a canvass kickoff with the Latino Victory Fund. Virginia has a significant number of Latino voters, which has been a source of strength for Sanders in other states. Biden’s campaign hopes to carve into that support here.
In an office with orange walls, Joe Biden posters, and boxes of Dunkin’ Donuts, a little over a dozen volunteers waited for the headliner, former Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd. “I sat next to [Biden] for 30 years on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee,” he said, adding that Biden “probably knows virtually every head of state around the world,” and that this is essential in a time where autocracy is spreading and coronavirus highlights the need for collective global action. “This job of being president, no one is ever prepared for,” he said. “The day you sit behind that desk, all the problems, both domestic and international, are in your lap that day.”
Dodd highlighted Biden’s ability to get things done and make deals, a skill Dodd said is no longer valued. “He’s honest, he has integrity,” Dodd said. “I don’t know a more decent human being in public life than Joe Biden.”
Alfonso Lopez, a Virginia delegate representing the 49th District and a former Obama administration official, said that he knew that Biden could handle making the right decision, “even when it wasn’t popular or wasn’t easy.” Biden always “chose helping kids, helping families,” Lopez added. “When given five choices, he always chose the best option.”
“I’m a doctor,” said Sergio Rimola, “and I think [Biden] has the best health care plan.” Rimola, whose practice is in Vienna, Virginia, said that he likes that Biden supports the public option. “As a Latino, I think health care is the most important issue.”
Virginia has a significant number of Latino voters, which has been a source of strength for Sanders in other states. Biden’s campaign hopes to carve into that support here.
One volunteer, who lived in Washington, D.C., said that this was the first time he had come out to volunteer for a candidate since 2012, when he canvassed for Obama. “I believe he’s the one who can fix this,” said Nicholas Giles. He said that he understands the appeal of Bernie Sanders and wants universal health care, but he wants someone to get things done right away—not several years down the line.
Another Biden supporter, Aaron, said he’s a “blue no matter who” voter. “I think what sets [Biden] apart, he’s experienced tremendous suffering in his personal life, and that gives him empathy.” Aaron said that his most important issue was climate change. Despite Biden having a more moderate climate plan than, say, Elizabeth Warren or Sanders, Aaron said he thinks that Biden will be attuned to activist pressure. “I’m pragmatic, and I’m confident Biden will get things done.”
Biden’s sweeping victory in South Carolina will give him a boost, but with little time between the win and Super Tuesday, it’s difficult to tell how much of a difference it will make. Congressman Jim Clyburn’s endorsement helped lift Biden’s candidacy in South Carolina just days before voting. Similarly, Biden received several notable Virginia endorsements: Senator Tim Kaine endorsed on Friday, Congressman Bobby Scott on Saturday, and freshman Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton on Sunday, as well as former Governor Terry McAuliffe—an endorsement that was likely expected given that McAuliffe’s wife, Dorothy McAuliffe, was already on the campaign trail for Biden.
In a virtual three-way tie in Virginia, all three candidates may meet the 15 percent threshold for delegates. Biden’s support runs deep in Virginia politics, and Bloomberg’s support in the gun violence prevention movement has helped propel him to front-runner status. Nonetheless, Sanders’s overwhelming appeal to young voters may still take him over the finish line.
