Eiffel Tower says "Merci" to health workers fighting virus

March 27, 2020

PARIS (AP) — Health workers racing to save lives as France contends with one of the world's worst coronavirus outbreaks have received a huge show of gratitude with the help of the Eiffel Tower. The Paris landmark also had a message for the broader French public: Stay home.

Lights spelled out “Merci," French for ‘Thank you,” and “Stay at home" in English on Friday night along with the tower's famous sparkling illuminations. The display of solidarity that started at 8 p.m. (1900 GMT) coincided with the moment when citizens in lockdown across France have been cheering and applauding from their windows and balconies in support of doctors and nurses.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said the light show will take place every evening on the 324-meter-tall tower. French hospitals recorded nearly 2,000 virus-related deaths as of Friday, a figure that doesn’t include COVID-19 cases elsewhere. Health workers are straining to treat an ever-increasing number of patients, including nearly 3,800 in intensive care.

For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death.

In neighboring Switzerland, authorities also are lighting up one of the nation’s landmarks, the Matterhorn. Nightly from sundown until 11 p.m., light artist Gerry Hofstetter is splashing the Alpine peak with words and images of encouragement and inspiration.

Images on the snow-capped summit have shown a heart, the Swiss flag, “Hope” and "#stayhome."

Buttigieg ends historic presidential campaign, urges unity

March 02, 2020

WASHINGTON (AP) — Pete Buttigieg, who rose from relative obscurity as an Indiana mayor to a barrier-breaking, top-tier candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, ended his campaign on Sunday.

The decision by the first openly gay candidate to seriously contend for the presidency — and among the youngest ever — came just a day after a leading rival, Joe Biden, scored a resounding victory in South Carolina. That sparked new pressure on the party's moderate wing to coalesce behind the former vice president.

“The truth is the path has narrowed to a close for our candidacy if not for our cause,” Buttigieg, 38, told supporters in South Bend, Indiana. “We must recognize that at this point in the race, the best way to keep faith with those goals and ideals is to step aside and help bring our party and country together.”

He didn't endorse any of his former rivals, though he and Biden traded voicemails on Sunday. Buttigieg has spent the past several weeks warning that nominating progressive leader Bernie Sanders to take on President Donald Trump would be risky.

Buttigieg on Sunday called on supporters to ensure that a Democrat wins the White House in November and that the party's success carries over to down-ballot races for House and Senate. During previous debates, Buttigieg said Sanders could threaten Democratic seats in Congress.

More broadly, Buttigieg urged Americans to move beyond the divisive politics of the Trump era to embrace a more inclusive, unifying approach. “Politics at its worst is ugly,” he said. “But at its best, politics can lift us up. It is not just policymaking. It is moral. It is soulcraft. That's why we're in this."

Buttigieg kissed his husband, Chasten, as he walked onto the stage and offered a message for children who might be watching. “We send a message to every kid out there wondering if whatever marks them out as different means they are somehow destined to be less than," Buttigieg said. “To see that someone who once felt that exact same way can become a leading American presidential candidate with his husband by his side."

Voters saw Buttigieg in the more moderate lane of the Democratic field, and he flourished early with a top finish in the Iowa caucuses and a close second place finish in New Hampshire. But as the race moved to more diverse states, less dependent on college-educated voters, Buttigieg struggled.

Despite robust organizations in Iowa and New Hampshire and supporters who included an influx of former independents and Republicans, Buttigieg failed to overcome daunting questions about his ability to draw African American support key to the Democratic base.

He earned just 3% of the nonwhite vote in South Carolina's Saturday primary, according to AP VoteCast, a a wide-ranging survey of the electorate. As mayor of a city that is 25% black, Buttigieg faced criticism for firing the first African American police chief in the history of South Bend and for his handling of the case of a white police officer who fatally shot an armed black man in June.

A Black Lives Matter group from South Bend released a statement saying it was “excited” that Buttigieg left the race. “We hope that he learned his lesson — that neoliberalism and anti-Black policies will no longer be tolerated,” the group wrote.

After his unexpected rise to contention in Iowa and New Hampshire last fall, Buttigieg became the target of Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren for the high-dollar fundraisers he was hosting, notably one in a wine cave in California.

Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar also went at Buttigieg in the months before the caucuses for lacking national experience. She noted that he had lost his only statewide race as a candidate for Indiana treasurer in 2010, while she had won three statewide terms in Minnesota in part by carrying Republican-heavy regions.

Buttigieg presented a starkly different figure on the debate stage than the other leading candidates — all septuagenarians — and drew admirers for his calm, reasoned demeanor and rhetorical skills that reflected his Harvard-trained, Rhodes scholar background but that some voters and operatives described as “robotic.”

Buttigieg had modeled his campaign somewhat on that of former President Barack Obama, who won the 2008 Iowa caucuses largely based on a message of unity and by drawing in a healthy bloc of first-time caucus participants, often the key in a crowded, high-turnout contest.

Jim Ward, a volunteer on the campaign in South Bend, said he and others were at the local campaign office training at around 6 p.m. when they learned of Buttigieg's decision. “They got word and left rather quickly,” he said in a text with the AP, noting that he had mixed emotions.

“I am so proud the campaign and proud of Pete for making this decision when he’s making it and not prolonging the campaign any longer than necessary,” Ward said. “I am just so, so sad that it didn't work out this time.”

Democratic strategist David Axelrod said “the Pete Buttigieg story isn't over." “He’s 38 years old,” Axelrod said. “He’s vaulted himself into the national conversation. He obviously has work to do on some things that -- some weaknesses we’ve seen in this election -- but whenever there is a conversation again about Democratic candidates, he’ll be in that conversation. And that’s a remarkable achievement, given where he started a year ago.”

Kinnard reported from Columbia, South Carolina, and Beaumont from Des Moines, Iowa. Associated Press writers Kathleen Ronayne in San Jose, California, Bill Barrow in Atlanta and Michelle Smith in Providence, Rhode Island contributed to this report.

Biden hopes South Carolina win boosts him on Super Tuesday

March 01, 2020

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Joe Biden scored a thundering victory in South Carolina’s Democratic primary on the strength of African American support, a decisive win that could force moderate rivals out of the race and blunt the rise of progressive leader Bernie Sanders.

Biden's win Saturday came at a perilous moment in his 2020 bid as he needed an emphatic rebound after underwhelming performances this month in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada. The race now pivots to the 14 states from Maine to California that vote on Tuesday in what effect will be a national primary.

“We are very much alive," Biden declared at an exuberant post-election rally. “For all of you who have been knocked down, counted out, left behind -- this is your campaign.” Biden won about three times as many delegates in South Carolina as his nearest rival. Sanders claimed a distant second place, a loss that gave a momentary respite to anxious Democrats who feared that the democratic socialist would finish February with four consecutive top finishes that would make it difficult for anyone to overtake him.

The Associated Press declared Biden the winner just after the polls closed in South Carolina. The AP based the call on data from AP VoteCast, a survey of the electorate conducted for the AP by NORC at the University of Chicago. The survey showed a convincing win for Biden.

Even with the victory, the shortcomings of Biden's campaign remain, including a lack of robust funding and organization, and he will face for the first time Mike Bloomberg, a billionaire who has spent more than $500 million advertising in the Super Tuesday states. Bloomberg announced his own plan to deliver a three-minute prime-time address Sunday night on two television networks. He didn't say how much he paid for the air time, which is unprecedented in recent decades.

Biden is barely running any television advertising in Super Tuesday states. And both Sanders and Bloomberg have many more staff and volunteers. But Biden is making an aggressive round of media appearances on Sunday in an effort to counter Bloomberg's massive spending. He's also working to secure endorsements from prominent Democrats and, shortly after the Saturday results were in, former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe backed Biden.

The South Carolina primary was the first major test of the candidates' appeal among black voters. That courtship will continue on Sunday when many of the White House hopefuls travel to Selma, Alabama, to participate in ceremonies commemorating civil rights heroism.

A number of states that vote on Super Tuesday, including Alabama, Tennessee, North Carolina and Virginia, have substantial black populations. One of the candidates who spent recent weeks wooing black voters, billionaire activist Tom Steyer, ended his campaign on Saturday after a disappointing third place finish. He spent more than $24 million on television advertising in South Carolina -- more than all of his rivals combined -- but never found a clear lane in the crowded contest.

Seven candidates remain in the Democrats' quest to find the strongest possible nominee to take on President Donald Trump in November. They spent Saturday assessing the impact of Biden's win. Aides to Bloomberg's campaign said they still believe the former New York mayor can win in a handful of states that vote on Super Tuesday, including Arkansas, Alabama, Oklahoma, Virginia and North Carolina.

And Sanders was already looking ahead to the next contests as well, betting he can amass an insurmountable delegate lead. After two consecutive victories and a tie for the lead in Iowa, the 78-year-old Vermont senator's confidence has surged.

Sanders congratulated Biden on his first win and said it was nothing for his own supporters to worry about. “That will not be the only defeat. A lot of states in this country. Nobody wins them all,” he told a cheering crowd in Virginia. “Now we enter Super Tuesday.”

Pressure is building on lower performing candidates including former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren to justify staying in the race. None gave any indication on Saturday that they would exit before Tuesday.

Through four contests, Sanders has a healthy, but shrinking, delegate lead. The AP has allocated at least 56 delegates to Sanders with a few more expected as South Carolina's remaining votes dribble in. Biden vaulted past Buttigieg into second place with at least 48 delegates and he’s likely to get several more. Buttigieg, Warren and Klobuchar remain stuck at 26, eight and seven, respectively.

Trump was paying close attention to the Democratic race. Speaking before conservative activists earlier in the day, the president conducted a poll of sorts by asking his audience to cheer for who would be the best Democratic contender for him to face in November.

Sanders was the clear winner. “How could you be easier to beat than Joe? That guy can’t put two sentences together,” Trump told attendees of the Conservative Political Action Conference in suburban Washington. “But you know he is more down the middle. Everyone knows he’s not a communist and with Bernie there a real question about that.”

But Saturday was all about Biden and whether he might convince anxious establishment Democrats to rally behind him at last. Elected officials inclined to embrace his moderate politics had been reluctant to support him after bad finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire and a distant second place in Nevada last week. Yet fearing Sanders' polarizing progressive priorities, they're still searching for an alternative who's viewed as a safer bet to defeat Trump in November.

Biden won 63% of the votes cast by African Americans. He also did well with older voters, women, moderates and conservatives and regular churchgoers, according to AP VoteCast. Sanders earned the support of roughly 14% of African American voters, while billionaire businessman Tom Steyer won 15%.

There was also evidence that Biden’s status as former President Barack Obama’s two-term vice president helped him win over African Americans. VoteCast found that 45% voters in South Carolina wanted to return to the politics of the past, compared to about a third in Iowa and New Hampshire. That includes the 51% of African American voters who said they want a Democratic presidential nominee who would emulate the Obama presidency.

Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez cautioned Democrats that it’s still early in their presidential primary. Speaking at a North Carolina Democratic Party fundraising gala, Perez noted that to win the nomination, a Democrat must win 1,991 delegates — and only a fraction of those have been allocated in the party’s first four primaries.

“We have a long way to go,” he said.

Peoples reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Brian Slodysko, Will Weissert and Seth Borenstein in Washington, Thomas Beaumont in Columbia and Charleston, South Carolina and Alexandra Jaffe in Charlotte, North Carolina, contributed to this report.

Biden wins South Carolina, aims for Super Tuesday momentum

March 01, 2020

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Joe Biden scored a thundering victory Saturday in South Carolina’s Democratic primary on the strength of African American support, a decisive win that could force moderate rivals out of the race and blunt the rise of progressive leader Bernie Sanders.

Biden's win came at a perilous moment in his 2020 bid as he needed an emphatic rebound after underwhelming performances this month in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada. The race now pivots to the 14 states from Maine to California that vote on Tuesday in what effect will be a national primary.

“We are very much alive," Biden declared at an exuberant post-election rally. “For all of you who have been knocked down, counted out, left behind -- this is your campaign.” Sanders claimed a distant second place, a loss that gave a momentary respite to anxious Democrats who feared that the democratic socialist would finish February with four consecutive top finishes that would make it difficult for anyone to overtake him.

The Associated Press declared Biden the winner just after the polls closed in South Carolina. The AP based the call on data from AP VoteCast, a survey of the electorate conducted for the AP by NORC at the University of Chicago. The survey showed a convincing win for Biden.

Even with the victory, the shortcomings of Biden's campaign remain, including a lack of robust funding and organization, and he will face for the first time Mike Bloomberg, a billionaire who has spent more than $500 million advertising in the Super Tuesday states. Bloomberg announced his own plan to deliver a three-minute prime-time address Sunday night on two television networks. He didn't say how much he paid for the air time, which is unprecedented in recent decades.

Biden is barely running any television advertising in Super Tuesday states. And both Sanders and Bloomberg have many more staff and volunteers. But Biden is making an aggressive round of media appearances on Sunday in an effort to counter Bloomberg's massive spending. He's also working to secure endorsements from prominent Democrats and, shortly after the Saturday results were in, former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe backed Biden.

The South Carolina primary was the first major test of the candidates' appeal among black voters. That courtship will continue on Sunday when many of the White House hopefuls travel to Selma, Alabama, to participate in ceremonies commemorating civil rights heroism.

A number of states that vote on Super Tuesday, including Alabama, Tennessee, North Carolina and Virginia, have substantial black populations. One of the candidates who spent recent weeks wooing black voters, billionaire activist Tom Steyer, ended his campaign on Saturday after a disappointing third place finish. He spent more than $24 million on television advertising in South Carolina -- more than all of his rivals combined -- but never found a clear lane in the crowded contest.

Seven candidates remain in the Democrats' quest to find the strongest possible nominee to take on President Donald Trump in November. They spent Saturday assessing the impact of Biden's win. Aides to Bloomberg's campaign said they still believe the former New York mayor can win in a handful of states that vote on Super Tuesday, including Arkansas, Alabama, Oklahoma, Virginia and North Carolina.

And Sanders was already looking ahead to the next contests as well, betting he can amass an insurmountable delegate lead. After two consecutive victories and a tie for the lead in Iowa, the 78-year-old Vermont senator's confidence has surged.

Sanders congratulated Biden on his first win and said it was nothing for his own supporters to worry about. “That will not be the only defeat. A lot of states in this country. Nobody wins them all,” he told a cheering crowd in Virginia. “Now we enter Super Tuesday.”

Pressure is building on lower performing candidates including former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren to justify staying in the race. None gave any indication on Saturday that they would exit before Tuesday.

Through four contests, Sanders has a healthy, but shrinking, delegate lead. The AP has allocated at least 54 delegates to Sanders with a few more expected as South Carolina's remaining votes dribble in. Biden vaulted past Buttigieg into second place with at least 44 delegates and he’s likely to get several more. Buttigieg, Warren and Klobuchar remain stuck at 26, eight and seven, respectively.

Trump was paying close attention to the Democratic race. Speaking before conservative activists earlier in the day, the president conducted a poll of sorts by asking his audience to cheer for who would be the best Democratic contender for him to face in November.

Sanders was the clear winner. “How could you be easier to beat than Joe? That guy can’t put two sentences together,” Trump told attendees of the Conservative Political Action Conference in suburban Washington. “But you know he is more down the middle. Everyone knows he’s not a communist and with Bernie there a real question about that.”

But Saturday was all about Biden and whether he might convince anxious establishment Democrats to rally behind him at last. Elected officials inclined to embrace his moderate politics had been reluctant to support him after bad finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire and a distant second place in Nevada last week. Yet fearing Sanders' polarizing progressive priorities, they're still searching for an alternative who's viewed as a safer bet to defeat Trump in November.

Biden won 63% of the votes cast by African Americans. He also did well with older voters, women, moderates and conservatives and regular churchgoers, according to AP VoteCast. Sanders earned the support of 14% of African American voters, while billionaire businessman Tom Steyer won 15%.

There was also evidence that Biden’s status as former President Barack Obama’s two-term vice president helped him win over African Americans. VoteCast found that 45% voters in South Carolina wanted to return to the politics of the past, compared to about a third in Iowa and New Hampshire. That includes the 51% of African American voters who said they want a Democratic presidential nominee who would emulate the Obama presidency.

Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez cautioned Democrats that it’s still early in their presidential primary. Speaking at a North Carolina Democratic Party fundraising gala, Perez noted that to win the nomination, a Democrat must win 1,991 delegates — and only a fraction of those have been allocated in the party’s first four primaries.

“We have a long way to go,” he said.

Peoples reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Brian Slodysko, Will Weissert and Seth Borenstein in Washington, Thomas Beaumont in Columbia and Charleston, South Carolina and Alexandra Jaffe in Charlotte, North Carolina, contributed to this report.

Sanders' rise fuels Dems' angst over keeping House control

February 27, 2020

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Bernie Sanders' ascendancy as Democrats' leading presidential hopeful fueled growing unease Wednesday, as lawmakers openly expressed anxiety that the self-proclaimed democratic socialist could cost them House control and questions abounded over what party leaders should do.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., projected calm — and neutrality — as she batted away reporters' queries about whether it was time for her to try thwarting Sanders to protect her party's majority.

“We’re not going to lose the House," she said. "We’re going to be united by whomever is the candidate for president. But we are taking responsibility for winning the House, and we're not assuming anything. But we feel very confident.”

She delivered a similar message to colleagues at a closed-door meeting Wednesday morning, when she told them, "We cannot show any division. This has to be about unity, unity, unity.” Her remarks were described by a Democratic aide on condition of anonymity to relay private comments.

Yet with Sanders, I-Vt., riding high after early nominating contest wins in New Hampshire and Nevada and a virtual first-place tie in Iowa, other House Democrats were less sanguine. Time was growing short to head Sanders off. South Carolina holds its primary Saturday, followed three days later by Super Tuesday, when contests in 14 states and one territory will decide one-third of the delegates to this summer's Democratic convention.

Rep. Tom Malinowski, a freshman from a closely divided New Jersey district, said Democrats have “a simple path” to defeating President Donald Trump by focusing on health care, the economy and a promise that their presidential candidate won't lie. “I don't want to squander that opportunity" by nominating a contender who divides Democrats, he said in an unspoken reference to Sanders.

Freshman Rep. Elaine Luria, D-Va., who defeated an incumbent Republican in 2018 in a swing district in coastal Virginia, said a Sanders candidacy would be “incredibly divisive” and endanger more centrist lawmakers like herself. The former Navy commander said of GOP efforts to paint all Democrats as socialists, “Bernie Sanders just adds fuel to that fire."

Rep. Scott Peters, D-Calif., a leader of his party's House moderates, said there is widespread concern among lawmakers from competitive districts “that a Sanders candidacy would sink their reelections.”

Peters, whose San Diego district is safely Democratic, said Sanders would complicate moderates' reelection bids because “the face of the Democratic Party might be spouting things that are absolutely anathema to your voters.” Sanders advocacy for “Medicare for All,” the Green New Deal and student loan forgiveness has alienated many moderates.

Of the 42 House seats Democrats gained in 2018 when they captured the majority, 29 are from districts that Trump either won in 2016 or lost by a narrow 5 percentage points or less. Most of them are moderates.

Republicans will need to gain 18 seats in November's elections to win House control, assuming they retain three vacant seats held previously by the GOP. Asked what Pelosi was doing about Sanders, Peters said, “I hope that we do have a conversation as a party" about his impact on endangered Democrats.

Hours after he endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden for the Democratic nod, No. 3 House Democratic leader James Clyburn declined to say Wednesday whether it was time for Pelosi to speak up. “I don't tell people what to do politically,” Clyburn, from South Carolina, told reporters.

Asked if Sanders would cost Democrats the House, Clyburn said, “I don't know if he will or not. It’s not a chance I want to take.” Speaking on condition of anonymity, one Democratic lawmaker from a competitive district said many party moderates were eager for Pelosi to do something to hinder Sanders' drive toward the nomination.

No lawmakers interviewed specified exactly what leaders could do to help sidetrack Sanders. Any action they took would risk backfiring by antagonizing liberal voters who all Democrats will need this fall.

Sanders' rise has put many Democrats in a delicate situation similar to what many Republicans faced four years ago. As Trump roared toward the GOP nomination, his anti-immigrant views and personal foibles soured Republican congressional candidates, but many chose not to abandon him and risk alienating their party's base, conservative voters.

Underscoring the tricky political terrain they face, several vulnerable Democrats said Wednesday that they would back whoever their party's nominee is, but stopped short of saying they would campaign with Sanders.

"We haven't gotten that far yet," said Rep. Lucy McBath from a closely divided district outside Atlanta. "I'll cross that bridge if I come to it," said Michigan Rep. Elissa Slotkin, from a Lansing-area district that leans toward the GOP.

Some of Congress' most liberal Democrats have endorsed Sanders. One of them seemed to apply pressure on Pelosi on Wednesday to not undermine him. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., said Pelosi “plays a very important role in staying neutral and calming everybody down." She said Pelosi and other leaders who have not endorsed a candidate should continue that stance.

“They're going to have to win the votes for their own leadership positions within the caucus, and I think that weighing in would not be appropriate for the speaker,” Jayapal said. The House majority party elects the speaker for every new Congress.

Democratic Party officials will brief lawmakers Thursday on the rules that will govern their nominating convention this summer in Milwaukee. The party has weakened the clout of superdelegates, who include members of Congress, but they could play an important role if the convention does not choose a nominee during the gathering's first ballot.

Sanders takes hits while gaining spotlight as front-runner

February 26, 2020

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Democrats unleashed a roaring assault against Bernie Sanders and seized on Mike Bloomberg’s past with women in the workplace during a contentious debate that tested the strength of the two men at the center of the party’s presidential nomination fight.

As the undeniable Democratic front-runner, Sanders faced the brunt of the attacks for much of the night, and for one of the few times, fellow progressive Elizabeth Warren was among the critics. The Massachusetts senator pressed the case that she could execute ideas that the Vermont senator could only talk about.

“Bernie and I agree on a lot of things,” she said. “But I think I would make a better president than Bernie." A group of moderates, meanwhile, fought to emerge as the chief Sanders alternative. Former Vice President Joe Biden, who is seeking a strong win in South Carolina to keep his campaign afloat, argued only he has the experience to lead in the world. Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar repeatedly contended that she alone could win the votes of battleground state moderates. And former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg pointed to Sanders' self-described democratic socialism and his recent comments expressing admiration for Cuban dictator Fidel Castro's push for education.

“I am not looking forward to a scenario where it comes down to Donald Trump with his nostalgia for the social order of the 1950s and Bernie Sanders with a nostalgia for the revolutionary politics of the 1960s," Buttigieg declared.

But the moderates did little to draw separation among themselves, a dynamic that has so far only benefited the Vermont senator. Sanders fought back throughout the night, pointing to polls that showed him beating the Republican president and noting all the recent attention he's gotten: “I’m hearing my name mentioned a little bit tonight. I wonder why.”

The intensity of Tuesday's forum, with candidates repeatedly shouting over each other, reflected the reality that the Democrats’ establishment wing is quickly running out of time to stop Sanders' rise. Even some critics, Bloomberg among them, conceded that Sanders could build an insurmountable delegate lead as soon as next week.

The 10th debate of the 2020 primary season, sponsored by CBS and the Congressional Black Caucus Institute, was just four days before South Carolina's first-in-the-South primary and one week before more than a dozen states vote on Super Tuesday. The Democratic White House hopefuls will not stand side by side on the debate stage again until the middle of March. That made Tuesday’s debate likely the last chance for some candidates to save themselves and alter the trajectory of the nomination fight.

Though Sanders was at the center of the attacks, the night was actually something of a high point in his political career. After spending nearly three decades as an agitator who delighted in tearing into his party’s establishment, that very party establishment was suddenly fighting to take him down, a clear sign of his rising status as the leading candidate for the nomination.

Bloomberg also faced sustained attacks that gave him an opportunity to redeem himself after a bad debate debut one week earlier. Warren cut hard at his record as a businessman, bringing up reports of one particular allegation that he told a pregnant employee “to kill it,” a reference to the woman’s unborn child. Bloomberg fiercely denied the allegation, but acknowledged he sometimes made comments that were inappropriate.

Bloomberg “cannot earn the trust of the core of the Democratic Party,” Warren said. “He is the riskiest candidate standing on this stage.” But Bloomberg will likely remain a force in the contest even as other candidates may quickly face tough choices about the sustainability of their campaigns. Bloomberg has already spent more than $500 million on a national advertising campaign, and his fortune ensures he will remain a factor at least through Super Tuesday.

From the earliest moments of the debate, Bloomberg sought to portray a clear contrast with Sanders. He said Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin agree that Sanders would be the best outcome for the Democrats.

“Vladimir Putin thinks Donald Trump should be president of the United States and that’s why Russia is helping you get elected so you lose to him,” the former New York mayor said. Last week, Sanders acknowledged that he’d be been briefed by intelligence officials who said that Russia is attempting to interfere in the elections to benefit him. He responded to Bloomberg on Tuesday with a direct statement for Putin: "Hey, Mr. Putin, if I’m president of the United States, trust me you’re not going to interfere in any more American elections.’”

But the skepticism for Sanders was a constant. Buttigieg raised concerns that a Sanders nomination would cost Democrats the House and make it harder to retake the Senate. “We're not going to win these critical, critical House and Senate races if people in those races have to explain why the nominee of the Democratic Party is telling people to look at the bright side of the Castro regime,” Buttigieg said.

And Bloomberg said Sanders wouldn't be able to build a winning coalition that includes Republicans unhappy with Trump's performance in the White House. “Can anyone in this room imagine moderate Republican going over and voting for him,” he said. “You have to do that or you can't win.”

Warren, who raised questions about Sanders' electability earlier in the night, intercepted that criticism, arguing that a “progressive agenda is popular." The South Carolina contest offers the first real look at the influence African American voters play in the Democrats’ presidential nomination process. Biden is trying to make a big impression in in the state, where he was long viewed as the unquestioned front-runner because of his support from black voters. But heading into Saturday’s primary after three consecutive underwhelming finishes, there were signs that the former vice president’s African American support may be slipping.

One reason: Tom Steyer. The billionaire activist has been pouring money into African American outreach, which threatens to peel away some of the support Biden badly needs. Steyer noted Tuesday that he was the only candidate on stage who supported reparations for descendants of slaves.

Bloomberg, who for years defended New York’s stop-and-frisk policing policy that a federal court struck down, made an overt appeal to the nation’s black voters. “I know that if I were black, my success would have been a lot harder to achieve,” he said. “That’s a fact that we’ve got to do something about.”

The attacks against Sanders did not slow as the night went on. He was forced to defend his position on Israel, having condemned the American ally for its treatment of Palestinians. “Sadly, tragically in Israel, through Bibi Netanyahu, you have a reactionary racist, who is now running that country,” said Sanders. who would be the country's first Jewish president. He added: “What you cannot ignore is the suffering of the Palestinian people.”

And Biden slammed Sanders for his record on gun control, seizing on the Vermont senator's support of the 2005 Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, legislation that protects gun manufacturers and sellers from laws that attempt to hold them liable for dealing firearms that end up in the hand of criminals.

“My friend to my right, and others, have in fact also given in to gun manufacturers absolute immunity,” said Biden. “Imagine if I stood here and said, ‘We give immunity to drug companies. We give immunity to tobacco companies.'

"That has caused carnage on our streets. " Sanders proudly highlighted his “D minus” rating from the pro-gun organization. And just last week, several gun control advocates who survived the Parkland, Florida, school shooting endorsed him.

Moving forward from the fiery debate, there are questions about the Democratic Party’s ability to unify behind a nominee . Klobuchar perhaps summed up her party’s challenge best: “If we spend the next 10 months tearing our party apart, Donald Trump is going to spend the next four years tearing this country apart.”

Peoples and Madhani reported from Washington.

Sanders wins Nevada caucuses, takes national Democratic lead

February 23, 2020

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Bernie Sanders scored a commanding victory in Nevada’s presidential caucuses, cementing his status as the Democrats' national front-runner but escalating tensions over whether he’s too liberal to defeat President Donald Trump.

As Sanders celebrated Saturday night, Joe Biden was in second place with votes still being counted. Pete Buttigieg and Elizabeth Warren trailed further behind. They were all seeking any possible momentum heading into next-up South Carolina and then Super Tuesday on March 3.

Nevada's caucuses were the first chance for White House hopefuls to demonstrate appeal to a diverse group of voters in a state far more representative of the country as a whole than Iowa and New Hampshire. Sanders, a 78-year Vermont senator and self-described democratic socialist, won by rallying his fiercely loyal base and tapping into support from Nevada’s large Latino community.

In a show of confidence, Sanders left Nevada for Texas, which offers one of the biggest delegate troves in just 10 days on Super Tuesday. “We are bringing our people together," he declared. “In Nevada we have just brought together a multigenerational, multiracial coalition which is not only going to win in Nevada, it’s going to sweep this country.”

Saturday's win built on Sanders’ victory earlier this month in the New Hampshire primary. He essentially tied for first place in the Iowa caucuses with Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, who has sought to position himself as an ideological counter to Sanders’ unabashedly progressive politics.

But for all the energy and attention devoted to the first three states, they award only a tiny fraction of the delegates needed to capture the nomination. After South Carolina, the contest becomes national in scope, putting a premium on candidates who have the resources to compete in states as large as California and Texas.

While Sanders' victory in Nevada encouraged his supporters, it only deepened concern among establishment-minded Democratic leaders who fear he is too extreme to defeat Trump. Sanders for decades has been calling for transformative policies to address inequities in politics and the economy, none bigger than his signature “Medicare for All” health care plan that would replace the private insurance system with a government-run universal program.

Trump gloated on social media, continuing his weeks-long push to sow discord between Sanders and his Democratic rivals. “Looks like Crazy Bernie is doing well in the Great State of Nevada. Biden & the rest look weak,” Trump tweeted. “Congratulations Bernie, & don’t let them take it away from you!”

Buttigieg congratulated Sanders, too, but then launched an aggressive verbal assault on the senator as too divisive. “Before we rush to nominate Senator Sanders in our one shot to take on this president, let’s take a sober look at what is at stake for our party, for our values and for those with so much to lose," he said. “Senator Sanders believes in an inflexible, ideological revolution that leaves out most Democrats, not to mention most Americans.”

For Biden, a second place finish in Nevada could be the lifeline he needed to convince skeptics he still has a path to the nomination as the primary moves to more diverse states. He took aim at Sanders and billionaire Mike Bloomberg, who wasn't on the Nevada ballot, but has emerged as a threat to Biden in contests that begin next month.

"I ain’t a socialist. I’m not a plutocrat. I’m a Democrat,” Biden declared. Warren, who desperately needed a spark to revive her stalled bid, ignored Sanders and instead took a shot at Bloomberg's height as she thanked Nevada “for keeping me in the fight.”

Rallying supporters in Seattle, she said she wanted to talk about “a big threat — not a tall one, but a big one: Michael Bloomberg.” Also still in the fight: Billionaire Tom Steyer, who spent more than $12 million on Nevada television and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who hoped to prove her strong New Hampshire finish was no fluke.

Klobuchar, campaigning in her home state of Minnesota Saturday night, claimed Nevada success no matter her poor showing. “As usual I think we have exceeded expectations,” she said. The first presidential contest in the West tested the candidates' strength with black and Latino voters for the first time in 2020. Nevada’s population aligns more with the U.S. as a whole, compared with Iowa and New Hampshire: 29% Latino, 10% black and 9% Asian American and Pacific Islander.

Bloomberg, the former New York mayor who dominated the political conversation this week after a poor debate-stage debut, wasn't on the ballot. He's betting everything on a series of delegate-rich states that begin voting next month.

The stakes were high for Nevada Democrats to avoid a repeat of the chaos in the still-unresolved Iowa caucuses, and it appeared Saturday’s contest was largely successful. Unlike state primaries and the November election, which are run by government officials, caucuses are overseen by state parties.

Nevada Democrats sought to minimize problems by creating multiple redundancies in their reporting system, relying on results called in by phone, a paper worksheet filled out by caucus organizers, a photo of that worksheet sent in by text message and electronic results captured with a Google form.

In addition, it appeared Nevada Democrats were able to successfully navigate a complicated process for adding early voting to the caucus process. Nearly 75,000 people cast early ballots over a four-day period, and the party was able to process those in time for Saturday so they could be integrated into the in-person vote.

At the Bellagio casino caucus site, 41-year-old Christian Nielsen, a scuba diver for the Cirque du Soleil show “O,” said he backed Sanders because he believes the country needs a “major change in the White House.”

“We need somebody in the White House who has been on the right side of history for their entire career, somebody who stands with the working class, and will make things more fair for everybody,” Nielsen said.

The Democrats' 2020 nomination fight shifted beyond Nevada even before the final results were known. Only Biden, Buttigieg and Steyer were still in the state when news of Sanders’ victory was announced.

Sanders and Klobuchar spent the night in Super Tuesday states, and Buttigieg was headed to a third, Virginia. Warren, who began Saturday in Las Vegas, was to finish the day in Washington state, which hosts its election on March 10 but has already begun offering early voting.

Peoples and Slodysko reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Alexandra Jaffe in Washington, Christina A. Cassidy in Atlanta and Yvonne Gonzalez, Ken Ritter and Nicholas Riccardi in Nevada contributed to this report.