Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, is holding a rally San Jose on Sunday, less than 48 hours before California votes as part of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary's Super Tuesday.
Sanders will hold the rally at the San Jose Convention Center's 80,000-square-foot South Hall, which can accommodate up to 11,000 people.
Campaign staffers attending the rally are expected to collect vote-by-mail ballots from rally attendees to deliver them to the appropriate county registrar.
Sanders has built a formidable presence in the state, with 23 offices and more than 100 paid campaign staffers. The campaign also touts that it has knocked on more than a million doors and made more than 5 million phone calls to potential supporters in the state.
"Our campaign is doing everything we can to educate voters about the easiest ways to cast their ballots for president," said Rafael Navar, the Sanders campaign's California state director. "No Party Preference and
independent voters deserve every opportunity to participate in the democratic process, and that's why we have been on the ground since day one educating Californians about the ins and outs of voting."
The California primary will arrive after a month in which Sanders won the popular votes in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada and is likely to net a top-two finish in Saturday's South Carolina primary.
Polling has shown Sanders building a significant foothold in the state, holding a 13.5 percentage point lead in RealClearPolitics' polling average from Feb. 12-23. He's also the only candidate in the state who
consistently eclipses the 15 percent viability threshold for delegates, leading to the potential for Sanders to net a large majority of the 416 delegates available in the state.
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However, Sanders' ideals and campaign goals are not supported by all.
"Socialist Bernie Sanders has promised to eliminate private health insurance, raise taxes, open borders, and destroy a strong economy that is working for all Americans," President Donald Trump's spokesperson Samantha Zager said in a statement. "Meanwhile, President Trump continues to deliver on his promises to provide more jobs, fairer trade deals, and lower taxes to the people of the Golden State. Voters will remember these accomplishments and the poverty of the socialist Democrats' vision when they cast their ballots in November."
The muddled field of moderate candidates and Sanders' demographic strengths in California and other Super Tuesday states like Texas, North Carolina and Maine point to the potential for members of the Sanders campaign to wake up Wednesday with a commanding delegate lead.
In an effort to goose turnout in the state among new voters, the Sanders campaign has established a hotline voters can call if they need help filling out or casting their ballot.
"We have an unprecedented opportunity to expand the Democratic electorate this cycle, and we aren't going to waste it," Navar said.
The rally is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. at the South Hall, located at 435 S. Market St. Doors for the free event will open at 11:30 a.m. Tickets are not required but the campaign encourages attendees to RSVP at
events.berniesanders.com/event/251664/ to estimate the crowd's size.
