Presidential hopefuls in Las Vegas ahead of next Saturday's in-person caucus

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Nevada (United States), Feb 16 (Canadian-Media): During early voting in Nevada Saturday, Democratic rival Bernie Sanders was lashed out by the nominating contest, former U.S. vice-president Joe Biden for Sanders' lack of efforts to control his aggressive supporters, media reports said.

Early Voting in Nevada. Image credit: Twitter

Biden fights to rescue his struggling presidential bid and Sanders works to strengthen his strong standing with the contest speeding into a new phase.

Amid heightened concern over the process, several candidates were making urgent get-out-the-vote pushes with rallies and town halls ahead of a fundraising gala for the Las Vegas-based Clark County Democratic Party to feature a half-dozen White House hopefuls.


"Everybody knows how Donald Trump is. We gotta let him know who we are," Biden said, drawing a roar from about 100 campaign volunteers gathered at a Las Vegas middle school gymnasium for a Latino organizing event.


"I just have to do well," the former vice-president said when asked what he needs out of the state. Asked whether he has to win, he replied, "No, I don't think I have to, but I think we have a shot at winning."

, an icon in Nevada's Democratic politics, told reporters that "people should not be counting Joe Biden out of the race yet," but also offered warm words for Sanders' candidacy. When asked, he downplayed concerns from some Democrats that Sanders might hurt other candidates should he become the nominee.

"I care a great deal about Bernie Sanders. And he has gotten where he has by having people support him," said Former senator Harry Reid. "And so I'm not going to be critical of Bernie Sanders."

Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar tried to introduce herself to the state's voters, too, addressing an African American festival in a Las Vegas park. She praised the state's voting protections and Democratic legislative majority while pitching her appeal to pivotal Midwestern voters.

"In the middle of the country, where I'm from, I want a little more Nevada there," Klobuchar said. "My plan is to build a great blue wall around those states and make Donald Trump pay for it."

Bloomberg skips Nevada

Mike Bloomberg, who isn't competing in Nevada as part of a strategy to skip the first four states voting for a nominee, was on the cusp of qualifying for Wednesday's presidential debate in Las Vegas. The billionaire businessman and former New York mayor has increasingly become a target of the Democratic Party's far-left wing as national polls suggest he is on the rise.

Both Warren and Sanders criticized the role of big money in politics and billionaires seeking the presidency. 
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"Democracy is not billionaires spending hundreds of millions of dollars trying to get elected. Democracy is when working people stand up, fight for justice," Sanders declared.
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The campaign of Bloomberg, who campaigned Saturday in Virginia, announced the opening of seven new campaign offices in Florida, bringing the total to 10. The former New York mayor has more than 2,000 paid staff spread out across the country and has already spent over $300 million on TV, radio and digital advertising, according to the ad tracking firm Advertising Analytics.