Hillary Clinton, who had little to smile about as she marched in her hometown’s Memorial Day parade, is so desperate to stave off a humiliating loss to Bernie Sanders in California that she is ditching a planned stop in New Jersey to stretch out her Golden State trip this week.
Clinton leads Sanders in California, but only by a measly 2 points, 46 percent to 44 percent, the Public Policy Institute of California found Thursday in the race’s most recent poll.
Although her delegate lead is all but insurmountable, a loss in the nation’s most populous state could slow Clinton’s momentum, following a State Department report that slammed her use of a private email server as secretary of state.
Meanwhile, Sanders has ramped up his campaign in the Golden State ahead of its primary next Tuesday, hoping to pull off an upset victory that would theoretically keep his campaign alive.
With 475 delegates at stake in California, Sanders has said he aims to secure as many as possible to make the case at July’s Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia that he would be the stronger general-election candidate.
Voters in New Jersey and four other states vote that day.
A victory in California would also help Sanders argue that his far-left platform appeals to a diverse bloc of voters.
Clinton’s campaign announced Monday that an “organizing event” planned for Thursday at Mercer County Community College in West Windsor, NJ, was canceled due to a “scheduling” change.
She will still appear at a fundraiser with Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) in New Jersey and another with former Attorney General Eric Holder in Manhattan on Tuesday, followed by a rally at Rutgers University in Newark on Wednesday.
Details of her California appearances were not immediately released, but it was expected that Clinton would crisscross the state for five straight days to try to seal the deal with voters.
In her only public appearance Monday, Clinton marched in a Memorial Day parade in Chappaqua, Westchester County, with husband Bill Clinton and Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
The crowd cheered, and many waved Clinton campaign signs.
The Clintons have marched in the parade before, and resident Kelly Aidekman said she viewed them “as if they were any other neighbors” in the affluent suburb.
One local wasn’t so neighborly.
John Nadler held a sign supporting Donald Trump, saying he wanted “to let people know that there’s more than one choice.”
Sanders, meanwhile, campaigned Monday in Oakland, Calif., stopping at Allen Temple, a historic black church. He was joined by actor Danny Glover.
“She’s getting very nervous lately,” Sanders said. “I don’t wanna add to her anxiety.
“So . . . don’t tell her: We’re going to win here in California.”
At one point, four people rushed the stage and were taken into custody by the Secret Service before they could reach Sanders. It is not clear what they wanted.
Sanders, who has criticized Clinton’s support for the Iraq war, also took to Twitter to push his pacifist politics on Memorial Day.
“We must never take lightly the decision to send our sons and daughters to battle, and it must always be the last resort,” read one tweet.
“We must go beyond fine speeches if we’re serious about protecting the needs of veterans. They’ve protected us. Now we must protect them,” another read.
And he slammed Clinton for what he called her lack of support for financially devastated Puerto Rico.
“As has happened many times before, Secretary Clinton has changed her mind and is inching closer to positions I have taken,” he said. “But what she says only days before Election Day in Puerto Rico is too little, too late.”
Clinton supported a House bill establishing a control board that would have the power to impose austerity measures to ease Puerto Rico’s $70 billion debt. She has softened her position as the island’s June 5 primary approaches.
North and South Dakota, Montana, New Mexico and New Jersey will also hold primaries June 7.