Who's Best For Hispanics? Clinton, Sanders Debate
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MIAMI (AP) — Hillary Clinton batted away a question about whether she would drop out of presidential the race if indicted over the handling of her email as she and Bernie Sanders opened their latest debate Wednesday by both proclaiming they had a strong pathway to the Democratic nomination.
Univision's Jorge Ramos hit Clinton with a blunt question in the debate's opening moments, asking: "If you're indicted, will you drop out?
"Oh for goodness, that is not going to happen," Clinton declared. "I'm not even going to answer that question."
The FBI is investigation the possibility of mishandling of sensitive information that passed through Clinton's private email server while she was secretary of state.
Sanders, as he has in the past, declined to bite on the issue, saying, "The process will take its course." He said he'd rather talk about the issues of wealth and income inequality.
The two candidates laid out rival paths to the nomination, Clinton stressing that she has a strong lead in the delegates. She declared, "This is a marathon, and it is a marathon that can only be carried by the kind of campaign I am running."
Sanders, for his part, said he'd come a long way from the early days when his campaign was largely written off. He called his upset victory in Michigan on Tuesday evidence that his message is resonating.
"We are going to continue to do extremely well," he said, adding that he expects to convince superdelegates who are backing Clinton to switch to his column.
With Florida offering the biggest prize in next Tuesday's round of voting, the two candidates quickly exchanged attacks over who's been a true advocate for Latinos and who's been a friend only out of political convenience.
Clinton faulted Sanders for repeatedly voting against a 2007 comprehensive immigration reform bill; he faulted her for opposing a 2007 effort to allow people who were in the country illegally to obtain driver's licenses.
The candidates squared off soon after a testy debate in Michigan on Sunday in which they argued about trade and economic issues of particular interest in the industrial Midwest. This time, immigration and other matters of special concern to the Latino community loomed large. Florida is home to nearly 1.8 million Hispanics, including about 15 percent of the state's Democrats.
The candidates also are focusing on a broader audience, with Missouri, Illinois, Ohio and North Carolina also in Tuesday's primary lineup, and a total of 691 delegates at stake.
A good share of Florida voters already have locked in their decisions: nearly 487,000 Democrats have cast early ballots, representing about 11 percent of registered Democrats.
In advance of the debate, airing on Univision and CNN, the two campaigns held rival conference calls, each side arguing that its candidate was strongest on Latino issues and that the other side's motivations were suspect.
"Hillary is the only one we can trust to lead 11 million people out of the shadows into the light," said Illinois Rep. Luis Guitterez, pointing to Sanders' vote against immigration reform legislation in 2007.
Sander's campaign played up his immigrant roots and pointed to Clinton's opposition to the driver license provision.
Hispanic voters have made up about 10 percent of voters in the Democratic primaries so far this year, and Clinton has been getting about two-thirds of their votes to about one-third for Sanders. The Vermont senator, for his part, stresses that he's making progress on winning over younger Hispanics.
One week out from the Florida primary, Clinton holds a lead in opinion polls there. But she also led in pre-primary polls in Michigan, where Sanders surprised her with a 50 percent to 48 percent victory.
Clinton has won 762 pledged delegates compared to 549 for Sanders, with 10 delegates from recent primaries still to be allocated. When superdelegates are included, Clinton leads 1,223 to 574, more than halfway to the 2,383 needed to win the Democratic nomination.
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