theguardian--2020-03-03--How a data-backed Christian nationalist machine helped Trump to power

By his own account , Bill Dallas grew up in an unhappy household .
His mother had been sexually abused by her father and had her first pregnancy aged 17 .
Dallas ’ s dad was an alcoholic and a depressive who died at 51 .
Dallas was an intense , obsessive child , dogged by feelings of inadequacy .
You could say he was wired for the bitter schema of sin-and-salvation religion .
But despite his challenging start in life , he had clear talents .
He attended Vanderbilt University in Nashville , known for its vast academic offerings @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and after graduating with honors , he moved to San Francisco .
Blessed with photogenic looks , he modeled for “ a major retail chain ” .
Soon Dallas was at the center of an energetic social whirl .
He and his friends rented stretch limos and people gave him the nickname “ Mr GQ ” .
Soon his connections started to yield fruit – and temptation .
Dallas found his way into real estate and then the money began to pour in .
But even as he accumulated outward signs of success @ @ @ @ @ @ @ anxieties at his core .
Then , things really fell apart .
Dallas has publicly offered few details of his crimes , but he was convicted of grand theft embezzlement and sentenced to prison .
He was fined $ 772,000 in connection with illegal contributions to six candidates for city offices in Oakland .
As Dallas tells the story , he spent time in Susanville and then San Quentin prisons , moving into a cell on the fourth tier of North Block .
It was there that his life began to turn around @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a network of thousands of pastors , on the steering committee of Project Blitz , and in the cockpit of Christian nationalism ’ s taxpayer-subsidized , data-driven voter turnout machine .
As Dallas became acclimated to life in prison , and with the assistance of some of the “ lifers ” he met there , he deepened his connection to God .
He got a job at the prison ’ s TV station , working his way up to being a producer and on-air host .
When he left prison , he says @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , physical and spiritual shape of his life .
But he still hadn ’ t paid his debts .
Dallas owed multiple fines and taxes – one fine alone was close to $ 750,000 .
He immediately looked for ways to make a living .
In March 1998 , Dallas had a holy visitation , telling him to start a satellite network delivering ministry training programs to churches around the country .
And he did – conceiving of a national network of evangelical pastors and other church leaders .
As it turns out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Christian nationalist movement needed .
With the help of Silicon Valley businessmen including Reid Rutherford and venture capitalist John Mumford , Dallas ’ s Church Communication Network grew with exponential velocity .
But Dallas had a bolder vision .
Working with thousands of pastors allowed him to reach literally millions of congregants – and potentially millions of voters .
With marketing and communications increasingly driven by data mining , he knew there had to be a better way to mobilize the nation ’ s conservative Christians .
Dallas soon established a fruitful partnership @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pollster .
It was a match made in heaven .
Dallas realized his vast network could collect data and use it to create more effective messaging .
And now he had the resources to make it happen .
Dallas set up United in Purpose ( UiP ) , and by November 2016 , he had thousands of conservative churches in reach .
These “ strategically cultivated support for a variety of pro-life , pro-family , limited government candidates in swing states , ” according to Barna – all bound by the idea that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spheres in which their faith should have influence ” .
The initiative catapulted Dallas into the upper echelons of power .
He appears on the Southern Poverty Law Center ’ s leaked 2014 membership list for the Council for National Policy .
When Donald Trump met privately with evangelical leaders in June 2016 , Bill Dallas helped organize the event .
The organization ’ s inner circle included some familiar names .
These included David Barton , who acts as a “ director ” , contributing two hours per week to the cause @ @ @ @ @ @ @ UiP ’ s form 990s .
Jim Garlow , the politically connected preacher , is another “ director ” .
And the seasoned Republican operative Robert D McEwen – commonly known as Bob – received a salary of $ 18,000 for two hours ’ work a week in 2017 .
It ’ s not surprising to see David Barton ’ s name pop up here : he ’ s the Where ’ s Waldo of the Christian nationalist movement .
Garlow , is recognizable from California ’ s rightwing political scene ; a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s 2008 anti– marriage equality amendment known as proposition 8 .
Bob McEwen is a telling addition .
His lobbying work has put him in the company and on the payroll of a number of international political figures .
He has longstanding ties to the Fellowship Foundation , also known as “ the Family ” , which organizes the National Prayer Breakfast , an annual gathering of about 4,000 participants , hosted by members of Congress .
That breakfast has long served as “ a backdoor to American power ” , according @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a Netflix documentary on the Family .
The Family “ [ dispatches ] representatives to build relationships with foreign leaders , ” explains Sharlet .
“ The more invisible you can make your organization , the more influence it will have.
” In December 2015 , Chris Vickery , an information technology specialist who hunted for data breaches as a hobby , came upon a massive database on 191 million US citizens .
It contained data belonging to registered voters , from cellphone numbers to evidence of gun ownership .
A second breach @ @ @ @ @ @ @ income levels , whether the person was a fan of Nascar , had a “ Bible lifestyle ” , or had an interest in hunting or fishing .
After some sleuthing , Vickery thought he had a clear idea of where it all came from .
It linked , he said , to Pioneer Solutions Incorporated , a company run by Bill Dallas .
It also linked to a campaign titled “ Champion the Vote ” , run by UiP .
But the real significance of Vickery ’ s discovery was the number @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on .
“ We have about 200 million files , so we have pretty much the whole voting population in our database , ” said Dallas .
“ What we do is we track to see what ’ s going to make somebody vote either one way or not vote at all.
” UiP assigns points to each individual in its database for characteristics that line up with conservative religious voting patterns .
Individuals receive points if they are members of conservative churches or if they homeschool their children .
They also get @ @ @ @ @ @ @ equality or abortion rights , or if they hunt , fish , or follow Nascar .
“ If [ your score ] totaled over 600 points , then we realized you were very serious about your faith , ” Dallas explains .
UiP ’ s first mission is to ensure all 600-pointers are registered to vote .
For the 2012 election cycle , it aimed to register 5 million conservative Christians – a number Dallas believed could decide the presidency .
In 2008 , as he has pointed out , key states such @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were decided by slim margins .
Registering conservative Christians could make a difference .
To do that , Dallas was able to access a ready army of volunteers , many recruited from organizations such as the Family Research Council or conservative churches .
All major political operations now rely on big data and activist networks in election campaigns .
One key difference , however , is that UiP ’ s voter turnout machine is at the top of a long pyramid that largely operates in the religious sphere , almost all of which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ public scrutiny .
So where does UiP get its financing and other forms of support ?
One source of support , no doubt , is UiP chairman and tech multi-millionaire Ken Eldred .
Eldred has donated generously to Republican campaigns , including those of Rick Perry and the disgraced former Alabama hopeful Roy Moore .
At a breakfast hosted by UiP in 2018 , Eldred said the upcoming midterm elections were about “ judges , judges , judges ” before leading the audience in prayer that “ the Lord Jesus Christ would be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
According to UiP ’ s own paperwork , their biggest funder by far is a single individual : Maj Gen Vernon B Lewis Jr. Lewis led a distinguished career in the army and , when he retired , co-founded two businesses .
The first – a military training and education company – was fined $ 3.2m to resolve allegations of false labor charges on a contract to support the US army in Afghanistan .
Lewis ’ s other company , Cypress International , consults with the US Department of Defense and other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have “ a deep understanding of business opportunities in the defense and homeland security sectors.
” Lewis also founded the Lone Star Eagle , which offers syndicated content from Breitbart News Network and the Daily Caller .
His contributions in the political arena are notable .
He was a top sponsor for the Faith , Family and Freedom gala dinner for the 2019 Values Voters Summit .
At that dinner , Trump delivered a lengthy address with the customary mix of falsehoods , boasting , and invective , and was received with multiple @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Dallas and Eldred appeared with Marcus and Joni Lamb on a Christian broadcasting network , to deliver a clear message to viewers : vote – the “ right ” way .
Lamb cut straight to what that meant .
“ Recently same-sex marriage became the law of the land , ” he said , knitting his fulsome eyebrows .
“ And principally it happened because Christians didn ’ t vote in the presidential election , and supreme court justices who were very liberal were appointed to the bench.
” Dallas was the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : “ Ninety million Christians , OK , and 39 million don ’ t get involved , ” he said .
“ If they got involved , eventually the fragrance of this country would have a Christ-like fragrance.
” In response to a question about what churches can do , Dallas continued : “ They can go to championthevote.com .
We ’ ll help the pastor determine who is registered or not registered in their congregation.
” Referring to UiP ’ s special toolkit for pastors , Dallas says : “ We provide @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ‘ just add water ’ – tools .
Contact us !
We have a ministry consultant who will work with each church to help them get their people out to vote on election day.
” UiP ’ s pastor-focused initiative , Project 75 , aims at “ mobilizing 75 % of church members to VOTE ” .
The program features a Church Voter Lookup Tool , which promises to “ run your church database all at once.
” It provides reports on what percentage of a congregation is registered to vote , what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and after each election , they provide a follow up reports to track progress .
UiP was at the epicenter of a dense web of faith-based initiatives aimed at turning out conservative Christians for Trump and Pence .
The religious right is not a single organization , and yet it is surprisingly well organized .
It may be perceived as a grassroots movement , not answering in a formal way to a command-and-control hierarchy .
But it is the big-picture strategists who are , to a largely under-appreciated degree , acting as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ run-up to the 2018 midterm elections , Dallas appeared on Andrew Wommack ’ s Truth & Liberty Coalition broadcast to discuss the Trump-Russia scandal .
“ Christians , we don ’ t have the right to sit back and not engage .
We have a duty and a responsibility , ” said Dallas .
“ It is so important how we lay the foundation of the judges , both at the supreme court level and at the federal levels , so that we get the right judges in place.
” Referring to a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would be taking place at Wommack ’ s Charis Bible College , Dallas said : “ This is the Super Bowl where Christians are going to gather in our country.
” At some point in 2018 , the website for United in Purpose was scrubbed .
All that remained was a splash page .
Nevertheless , its profile within the Christian nationalist movement continued to climb .
UiP was a co-sponsor of the 2018 Values Voter Summit in Washington DC , alongside the Family Research Council and other top organizational players .
UiP @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
At a ceremony in 2017 , which took place at the Trump International Hotel in Washington , awardees included the Federalist Society ’ s Leonard Leo ; Frank Gaffney , who has warned of a Muslim Brotherhood plot to infiltrate the conservative movement ; and Hillsdale College president Larry Arnn .
Other awards went to Sean Hannity and Richard Viguerie .
The awards were introduced by Virginia “ Ginni ” Thomas , the president of Liberty Consulting and the wife of supreme court justice Clarence Thomas .
In 2018 , it was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ turn to collect UiP ’ s outstanding impact award .
It remains to be seen whether UiP ’ s visibility outside of the Christian nationalist hothouse will increase as the 2020 presidential election approaches .
In early 2018 , before it was taken down , a question appeared on the UiP website : “ Is it possible to transform American culture by bringing together conservative Christian organizations to act in unity to reach their shared goals ?
” The answer was “ a resounding YES ” .
And , it said , it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ through Unity ’ is a reality that is building momentum as we look to 2018 , 2020 and beyond.
” This is an edited extract from The Power Worshippers : Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism by Katherine Stewart ( Bloomsbury , $ 28.00 ) on 3 March

By his own account, Bill Dallas grew up in an unhappy household. His mother had been sexually abused by her father and had her first pregnancy aged 17. Dallas’s dad was an alcoholic and a depressive who died at 51. Dallas was an intense, obsessive child, dogged by feelings of inadequacy. You could say he was wired for the bitter schema of sin-and-salvation religion.
But despite his challenging start in life, he had clear talents. He attended Vanderbilt University in Nashville, known for its vast academic offerings. He dreamed of becoming an actor and after graduating with honors, he moved to San Francisco. Blessed with photogenic looks, he modeled for “a major retail chain”. Soon Dallas was at the center of an energetic social whirl. He and his friends rented stretch limos and people gave him the nickname “Mr GQ”. Soon his connections started to yield fruit – and temptation. Dallas found his way into real estate and then the money began to pour in. But even as he accumulated outward signs of success, Dallas couldn’t shake the anxieties at his core. Then, things really fell apart.
Dallas has publicly offered few details of his crimes, but he was convicted of grand theft embezzlement and sentenced to prison. He was fined $772,000 in connection with illegal contributions to six candidates for city offices in Oakland.
As Dallas tells the story, he spent time in Susanville and then San Quentin prisons, moving into a cell on the fourth tier of North Block. It was there that his life began to turn around.
His prison experiences launched him towards a network of thousands of pastors, on the steering committee of Project Blitz, and in the cockpit of Christian nationalism’s taxpayer-subsidized, data-driven voter turnout machine.
As Dallas became acclimated to life in prison, and with the assistance of some of the “lifers” he met there, he deepened his connection to God. He got a job at the prison’s TV station, working his way up to being a producer and on-air host.
When he left prison, he says, he was in the best mental, physical and spiritual shape of his life. But he still hadn’t paid his debts. Dallas owed multiple fines and taxes – one fine alone was close to $750,000. He immediately looked for ways to make a living.
Working with thousands of pastors let him reach millions of congregants – potentially millions of voters
In March 1998, Dallas had a holy visitation, telling him to start a satellite network delivering ministry training programs to churches around the country. And he did – conceiving of a national network of evangelical pastors and other church leaders. As it turns out, this was exactly what the growing Christian nationalist movement needed.
With the help of Silicon Valley businessmen including Reid Rutherford and venture capitalist John Mumford, Dallas’s Church Communication Network grew with exponential velocity.
But Dallas had a bolder vision. Working with thousands of pastors allowed him to reach literally millions of congregants – and potentially millions of voters. With marketing and communications increasingly driven by data mining, he knew there had to be a better way to mobilize the nation’s conservative Christians.
Religious leaders pray with Donald Trump after he signed a proclamation for a national day of prayer. Photograph: Evan Vucci/AP
Dallas soon established a fruitful partnership with George Barna, the California–based evangelical pollster. It was a match made in heaven. Dallas realized his vast network could collect data and use it to create more effective messaging. And now he had the resources to make it happen.
Dallas set up United in Purpose (UiP), and by November 2016, he had thousands of conservative churches in reach. These “strategically cultivated support for a variety of pro-life, pro-family, limited government candidates in swing states,” according to Barna – all bound by the idea that “politics was one of the life spheres in which their faith should have influence”.
The initiative catapulted Dallas into the upper echelons of power. He appears on the Southern Poverty Law Center’s leaked 2014 membership list for the Council for National Policy. When Donald Trump met privately with evangelical leaders in June 2016, Bill Dallas helped organize the event.
The organization’s inner circle included some familiar names. These included David Barton, who acts as a “director”, contributing two hours per week to the cause but drawing no salary – according to UiP’s form 990s. Jim Garlow, the politically connected preacher, is another “director”. And the seasoned Republican operative Robert D McEwen – commonly known as Bob – received a salary of $18,000 for two hours’ work a week in 2017.
It’s not surprising to see David Barton’s name pop up here: he’s the Where’s Waldo of the Christian nationalist movement. Garlow, is recognizable from California’s rightwing political scene; a key force behind the passage of California’s 2008 anti– marriage equality amendment known as proposition 8.
Trump addresses the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington after his impeachment acquittal. Photograph: Leah Millis/Reuters
Bob McEwen is a telling addition. His lobbying work has put him in the company and on the payroll of a number of international political figures. He has longstanding ties to the Fellowship Foundation, also known as “the Family”, which organizes the National Prayer Breakfast, an annual gathering of about 4,000 participants, hosted by members of Congress. That breakfast has long served as “a backdoor to American power”, according to Jeff Sharlet, who executive produced a Netflix documentary on the Family. The Family “[dispatches] representatives to build relationships with foreign leaders,” explains Sharlet. “The more invisible you can make your organization, the more influence it will have.”
In December 2015, Chris Vickery, an information technology specialist who hunted for data breaches as a hobby, came upon a massive database on 191 million US citizens. It contained data belonging to registered voters, from cellphone numbers to evidence of gun ownership. A second breach contained even more detailed information – including income levels, whether the person was a fan of Nascar, had a “Bible lifestyle”, or had an interest in hunting or fishing.
After some sleuthing, Vickery thought he had a clear idea of where it all came from. It linked, he said, to Pioneer Solutions Incorporated, a company run by Bill Dallas. It also linked to a campaign titled “Champion the Vote”, run by UiP.
What we do is we track to see what’s going to make somebody vote either one way or not vote at all
But the real significance of Vickery’s discovery was the number of voters UiP had access to information on.
“We have about 200 million files, so we have pretty much the whole voting population in our database,” said Dallas. “What we do is we track to see what’s going to make somebody vote either one way or not vote at all.”
UiP assigns points to each individual in its database for characteristics that line up with conservative religious voting patterns. Individuals receive points if they are members of conservative churches or if they homeschool their children. They also get points if they appear to oppose marriage equality or abortion rights, or if they hunt, fish, or follow Nascar.
“If [your score] totaled over 600 points, then we realized you were very serious about your faith,” Dallas explains.
UiP’s first mission is to ensure all 600-pointers are registered to vote. For the 2012 election cycle, it aimed to register 5 million conservative Christians – a number Dallas believed could decide the presidency. In 2008, as he has pointed out, key states such as Florida, North Carolina and Missouri were decided by slim margins. Registering conservative Christians could make a difference.
Audience members pray before Trump at the Values Voter Summit in 2019. Photograph: REX/Shutterstock
To do that, Dallas was able to access a ready army of volunteers, many recruited from organizations such as the Family Research Council or conservative churches.
All major political operations now rely on big data and activist networks in election campaigns. One key difference, however, is that UiP’s voter turnout machine is at the top of a long pyramid that largely operates in the religious sphere, almost all of which is exempt from taxes and shielded from public scrutiny.
Eldred said the upcoming midterm elections were about 'judges, judges, judges'
So where does UiP get its financing and other forms of support? One source of support, no doubt, is UiP chairman and tech multi-millionaire Ken Eldred. Eldred has donated generously to Republican campaigns, including those of Rick Perry and the disgraced former Alabama hopeful Roy Moore. At a breakfast hosted by UiP in 2018, Eldred said the upcoming midterm elections were about “judges, judges, judges” before leading the audience in prayer that “the Lord Jesus Christ would be the King of America once again”.
According to UiP’s own paperwork, their biggest funder by far is a single individual: Maj Gen Vernon B Lewis Jr. Lewis led a distinguished career in the army and, when he retired, co-founded two businesses. The first – a military training and education company – was fined $3.2m to resolve allegations of false labor charges on a contract to support the US army in Afghanistan.
Lewis’s other company, Cypress International, consults with the US Department of Defense and other federal government agencies, and claims to have “a deep understanding of business opportunities in the defense and homeland security sectors.”
Trump prays between Tony Perkins, the president of the Family Research Council, and Pastor Andrew Brunson, at the council’s annual gala in Washington in October. Photograph: Yuri Gripas/Reuters
Lewis also founded the Lone Star Eagle, which offers syndicated content from Breitbart News Network and the Daily Caller. His contributions in the political arena are notable. He was a top sponsor for the Faith, Family and Freedom gala dinner for the 2019 Values Voters Summit. At that dinner, Trump delivered a lengthy address with the customary mix of falsehoods, boasting, and invective, and was received with multiple standing ovations.
On March 7 2016, Dallas and Eldred appeared with Marcus and Joni Lamb on a Christian broadcasting network, to deliver a clear message to viewers: vote – the “right” way.
Lamb cut straight to what that meant. “Recently same-sex marriage became the law of the land,” he said, knitting his fulsome eyebrows. “And principally it happened because Christians didn’t vote in the presidential election, and supreme court justices who were very liberal were appointed to the bench.”
Dallas was the guy with the numbers and a plan: “Ninety million Christians, OK, and 39 million don’t get involved,” he said. “If they got involved, eventually the fragrance of this country would have a Christ-like fragrance.”
In response to a question about what churches can do, Dallas continued: “They can go to championthevote.com. We’ll help the pastor determine who is registered or not registered in their congregation.” Referring to UiP’s special toolkit for pastors, Dallas says: “We provide … like I make my brownies, ‘just add water’ – tools. Contact us! We have a ministry consultant who will work with each church to help them get their people out to vote on election day.”
UiP’s pastor-focused initiative, Project 75, aims at “mobilizing 75% of church members to VOTE”. The program features a Church Voter Lookup Tool, which promises to “run your church database all at once.” It provides reports on what percentage of a congregation is registered to vote, what percentage actually voted in the last election, and after each election, they provide a follow up reports to track progress.
UiP was at the epicenter of a dense web of faith-based initiatives aimed at turning out conservative Christians for Trump and Pence. The religious right is not a single organization, and yet it is surprisingly well organized. It may be perceived as a grassroots movement, not answering in a formal way to a command-and-control hierarchy. But it is the big-picture strategists who are, to a largely under-appreciated degree, acting as its architects and engineers.
In the run-up to the 2018 midterm elections, Dallas appeared on Andrew Wommack’s Truth & Liberty Coalition broadcast to discuss the Trump-Russia scandal.
Virginia Thomas, the wife of supreme court justice Clarence Thomas, has hosted awards for United in Purpose. Photograph: Erin Scott/Reuters
“Christians, we don’t have the right to sit back and not engage. We have a duty and a responsibility,” said Dallas. “It is so important how we lay the foundation of the judges, both at the supreme court level and at the federal levels, so that we get the right judges in place.” Referring to a Christian nationalist voter awareness event, which would be taking place at Wommack’s Charis Bible College, Dallas said: “This is the Super Bowl where Christians are going to gather in our country.”
At some point in 2018, the website for United in Purpose was scrubbed. All that remained was a splash page. Nevertheless, its profile within the Christian nationalist movement continued to climb. UiP was a co-sponsor of the 2018 Values Voter Summit in Washington DC, alongside the Family Research Council and other top organizational players.
UiP also doles out awards to hard-right leaders. At a ceremony in 2017, which took place at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, awardees included the Federalist Society’s Leonard Leo; Frank Gaffney, who has warned of a Muslim Brotherhood plot to infiltrate the conservative movement; and Hillsdale College president Larry Arnn. Other awards went to Sean Hannity and Richard Viguerie. The awards were introduced by Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, the president of Liberty Consulting and the wife of supreme court justice Clarence Thomas. In 2018, it was Fox News host Mark Levin’s turn to collect UiP’s outstanding impact award.
It remains to be seen whether UiP’s visibility outside of the Christian nationalist hothouse will increase as the 2020 presidential election approaches. In early 2018, before it was taken down, a question appeared on the UiP website: “Is it possible to transform American culture by bringing together conservative Christian organizations to act in unity to reach their shared goals?” The answer was “a resounding YES”. And, it said, it was “Just getting started…‘Transformation through Unity’ is a reality that is building momentum as we look to 2018, 2020 and beyond.”
This is an edited extract from The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism by Katherine Stewart (Bloomsbury, $28.00) on 3 March


theguardian--2020-03-03--Biden wins backing of former rivals Klobuchar and O'Rourke at Dallas rally

With just hours to go before Super Tuesday , the moderate wing of the Democratic party attempted to unite as a group of former candidates flocked to Texas and endorsed Joe Biden over his main rival , the progressive frontrunner Bernie Sanders .
At a raucous campaign rally in Dallas , Amy Klobuchar and Beto O ’ Rourke offered their backing to the former vice-president .
Hours earlier , outside a fast food restaurant in the same city , Pete Buttigieg also offered his endorsement .
Super Tuesday , which sees 14 states and two other constituencies weigh in on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ juncture in the race for the presidential nomination .
There are more than 1,300 delegates up for grabs , over a third of the entire tally in the election , with the race now widely viewed as a battle between Biden and Sanders , with the Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren and the billionaire Mike Bloomberg lagging behind .
Sanders holds a strong lead over Biden and Warren in the delegate-heavy state of California , but the race in Texas , which offers the second-largest delegate haul , is much closer , along with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , where polls suggest Biden has a slight lead and Bloomberg remains competitive .
Klobuchar and Buttigieg ’ s last-minute exits from the race present further unknowns going into the vote , and their endorsements of Biden , a fellow centrist Democrat , provide a major boost to his campaign .
Klobuchar , having ended her presidential run hours earlier , appeared on stage with Biden in front of a packed crowd .
“ I couldn ’ t think of a better way to end my campaign than joining his , ” she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she paid tribute to her campaign staff .
She urged the Democratic party to unite around him .
“ We need to unite our party and our country and to do it not just with our words , but with our actions , ” she said .
Buttigieg had flown to Texas from South Bend on Monday evening and told an impromptu event in Dallas : “ When I ran for president , we made it clear that the whole idea was about rallying the country together to beat Donald Trump.
” Flanked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he finished talking , Buttigieg added : “ And it is in the name of that very same goal that I am delighted to endorse and support Joe Biden for president.
” As Biden received the high profile endorsements , Sanders addressed a huge rally in St Paul , Minnesota , and paid tribute to his former competitors , inviting their supporters to join his campaign .
“ For all of Amy and Pete ’ s millions of supporters : the door is open , come on in , ” he said , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ historic… and brave campaign ” and noting the former mayor was the first openly gay party candidate for the presidency .
He described Klobuchar as “ one of the hardest workers I know ” .
Warren also held a huge rally on Monday night in Los Angeles , a reflection of her strong support in California , while Bloomberg held a town hall event in Virginia that was interrupted by protesters .
Tuesday marks the first time Bloomberg will appear on the ballot after he invested $ 500m of his personal fortune in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for optics ahead of the critical vote , Biden ’ s campaign appear to win .
Flanked by Klobuchar , he took to the stage as thousands of supporters chanted his name .
“ Just a few days ago the press and the pundits declared this campaign dead , but South Carolina had something to say about it , ” he said , referencing his landslide victory on Saturday that breathed new life into a flailing campaign .
“ And tomorrow Texas and Minnesota and the rest of the Super Tuesday states – @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lot to say about it.
” As he wrapped a stump speech , he introduced O ’ Rourke , the former Texas congressman whose short run for president ended last November after poor polling and a disastrous launch announcement on the cover of Vanity Fair .
O ’ Rourke remains popular among Democrats in his home state , however , who cheered as he entered the stage .
“ I will be casting my ballot for Joe Biden , ” he told the crowd .
“ Let me tell you why : we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Biden later suggested O ’ Rourke could have a future role in his campaign or administration working on gun control , an issue he pushed hard during his campaign .
Determined not to be upstaged , Donald Trump held a campaign rally in Charlotte , North Carolina , a Super Tuesday state where polls show a tight contest between Sanders , Biden and Bloomberg .
“ We like to troll , ” the president told a packed sports arena .
“ We like to go the night before one of their primaries @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It ’ s called , ‘ We do a little trolling.
’ Bernie Sanders was very upset : ‘ Why would he be there ?
Why ?
’ Because I want to win .
That ’ s a good reason .
”

Oliver Laughland in Dallas, Texas, and David Smith in Charlotte, North Carolina

With just hours to go before Super Tuesday, the moderate wing of the Democratic party attempted to unite as a group of former candidates flocked to Texas and endorsed Joe Biden over his main rival, the progressive frontrunner Bernie Sanders.
At a raucous campaign rally in Dallas, Amy Klobuchar and Beto O’Rourke offered their backing to the former vice-president. Hours earlier, outside a fast food restaurant in the same city, Pete Buttigieg also offered his endorsement.
Super Tuesday, which sees 14 states and two other constituencies weigh in on the Democratic primary, marks a crucial juncture in the race for the presidential nomination. There are more than 1,300 delegates up for grabs, over a third of the entire tally in the election, with the race now widely viewed as a battle between Biden and Sanders, with the Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren and the billionaire Mike Bloomberg lagging behind.
Sanders holds a strong lead over Biden and Warren in the delegate-heavy state of California, but the race in Texas, which offers the second-largest delegate haul, is much closer, along with other battles in North Carolina and Virginia, where polls suggest Biden has a slight lead and Bloomberg remains competitive.
Klobuchar and Buttigieg’s last-minute exits from the race present further unknowns going into the vote, and their endorsements of Biden, a fellow centrist Democrat, provide a major boost to his campaign.
Klobuchar, having ended her presidential run hours earlier, appeared on stage with Biden in front of a packed crowd. “I couldn’t think of a better way to end my campaign than joining his,” she said, her voice cracking, as she paid tribute to her campaign staff. She urged the Democratic party to unite around him.
“We need to unite our party and our country and to do it not just with our words, but with our actions,” she said.
Beto O’Rourke endorses Biden. Photograph: Richard W Rodriguez/AP
Buttigieg had flown to Texas from South Bend on Monday evening and told an impromptu event in Dallas: “When I ran for president, we made it clear that the whole idea was about rallying the country together to beat Donald Trump.” Flanked by Biden, who embraced him as he finished talking, Buttigieg added: “And it is in the name of that very same goal that I am delighted to endorse and support Joe Biden for president.”
As Biden received the high profile endorsements, Sanders addressed a huge rally in St Paul, Minnesota, and paid tribute to his former competitors, inviting their supporters to join his campaign.
“For all of Amy and Pete’s millions of supporters: the door is open, come on in,” he said, paying tribute to Buttigieg’s “historic… and brave campaign” and noting the former mayor was the first openly gay party candidate for the presidency. He described Klobuchar as “one of the hardest workers I know”.
Warren also held a huge rally on Monday night in Los Angeles, a reflection of her strong support in California, while Bloomberg held a town hall event in Virginia that was interrupted by protesters. Tuesday marks the first time Bloomberg will appear on the ballot after he invested $500m of his personal fortune in his campaign.
But in a battle for optics ahead of the critical vote, Biden’s campaign appear to win. Flanked by Klobuchar, he took to the stage as thousands of supporters chanted his name.
“Just a few days ago the press and the pundits declared this campaign dead, but South Carolina had something to say about it,” he said, referencing his landslide victory on Saturday that breathed new life into a flailing campaign. “And tomorrow Texas and Minnesota and the rest of the Super Tuesday states – they’re going to have a lot to say about it.”
As he wrapped a stump speech, he introduced O’Rourke, the former Texas congressman whose short run for president ended last November after poor polling and a disastrous launch announcement on the cover of Vanity Fair.
O’Rourke remains popular among Democrats in his home state, however, who cheered as he entered the stage.
“I will be casting my ballot for Joe Biden,” he told the crowd. “Let me tell you why: we need somebody who can beat Donald Trump.”
Biden later suggested O’Rourke could have a future role in his campaign or administration working on gun control, an issue he pushed hard during his campaign.
Determined not to be upstaged, Donald Trump held a campaign rally in Charlotte, North Carolina, a Super Tuesday state where polls show a tight contest between Sanders, Biden and Bloomberg.
“We like to troll,” the president told a packed sports arena. “We like to go the night before one of their primaries and we do a little trolling. It’s called, ‘We do a little trolling.’ Bernie Sanders was very upset: ‘Why would he be there? Why?’ Because I want to win. That’s a good reason.”


theguardian--2020-03-02--Republicans are making noises on climate action. Some say it's just greenwashing

Republican lawmakers under pressure to address the climate crisis are trying to move beyond denying the problem and start proposing solutions .
But they still refuse to commit to what scientists say is necessary if the US is to rapidly cut back on burning fossil fuels .
A recent package of legislation proposed by House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy would encourage capturing climate pollutants from power plants but use them to drill for oil .
It would also lead to the planting of a trillion trees to absorb carbon emissions but also ramp up logging , an idea Donald Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ greenwashing , ” said Randi Spivak , public lands director at the Center for Biological Diversity , which organized a letter of opposition on the tree bill from dozens of environment groups to the House natural resources committee .
“ The science is very clear , ” Spivak said .
“ We need to slash our carbon pollution by 50 % over the next 10 years if we want to avert the worst impacts of global warming and keep global warming to a 1.5C increase.
” The Republican party has seen a pendulum @ @ @ @ @ @ @ platform emphasized the importance of cutting emissions .
By 2016 , Donald Trump ran on a campaign of climate denial .
Now at least some prominent Republicans are breaking from the president and veering away from questioning the science and toward efforts that do not directly attack the coal , oil and gas industries .
Facing pushback from the far right , on the other side of the aisle they are criticized by some Democrats who believe they are not proposing legislation in good faith .
Alex Flint , executive director of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ organization that advocates reducing carbon pollution while growing the US economy – said the House bills were “ directionally correct ” but “ need to grow to address the scale of our climate problem ” .
“ I give [ House Republicans ] a great deal of credit for acknowledging the problem and stepping forward with proposals and recognizing that the politics of this has changed , ” he said .
“ But also acknowledging that they are in the early stages of really substantive climate proposals.
” Bruce Westerman , an Arkansas @ @ @ @ @ @ @ insisted his proposal would curb emissions even as it promotes logging .
When trees are cut down , they stop absorbing carbon .
Westerman , a forester who worked for an engineering consulting firm in the timber , pulp and paper business , said forest managers would just plant them again .
Products made from the trees would pay for continual planting , he said , and the wood would be used for sustainable buildings with lower emissions footprints .
A scientist called to testify by Democrats , Yale ecology professor Carla Staver @ @ @ @ @ @ @ proposals .
Forest management is an important way to fight climate change but it is not enough and it must be done properly , experts agree .
A bill from Democrats would aim to conserve forests without increasing logging and by banning oil and gas drilling on public lands if climate emissions exceed targets .
Westerman told the Guardian Democrats should be working with Republicans who want to address climate change .
“ Even someone who ’ s not a forester should be able to recognize an olive branch when they see one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Westerman defended his bill , the top Republican on his committee seemed to dismiss the overall effort .
At the beginning of the meeting , to which he was late , Rob Bishop of Utah suggested the elevators in House office buildings would be more timely under the rule of Benito Mussolini than they are with Democrats in charge .
Democratic climate proposals , he said , offered not a “ silver bullet ” to fix the problem but “ another bullet that is going to be used to shoot ourselves in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ graph demonstrating how US heat-trapping emissions have declined over time .
While the Republican bills are far from aggressive , the right of the party is pushing back .
The conservative Club for Growth Pac painted the package as “ stifling liberal environmental taxes , regulations , and subsidies ” and vowed to withhold support from any backers .
At the annual CPAC gathering near Washington , the climate change denial group the Heartland Institute presented a German teen activist who calls herself a “ climate sceptic ” as a foil to Greta @ @ @ @ @ @ @ senators fled the state capitol in order to derail a climate change bill .
Despite that backdrop , the top Democrat on the House natural resources committee welcomed Westerman ’ s proposal .
Raúl Grijalva said he hoped for a “ new chapter ” , focusing on solutions not denial .
He said : “ For too long my friends on the other side of aisle denied that this was even a real issue .
They would reject or even mock the overwhelming scientific consensus that climate is warming humans are responsible and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ”

Republican lawmakers under pressure to address the climate crisis are trying to move beyond denying the problem and start proposing solutions. But they still refuse to commit to what scientists say is necessary if the US is to rapidly cut back on burning fossil fuels.
A recent package of legislation proposed by House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy would encourage capturing climate pollutants from power plants but use them to drill for oil.
It would also lead to the planting of a trillion trees to absorb carbon emissions but also ramp up logging, an idea Donald Trump has endorsed.
“It’s greenwashing,” said Randi Spivak, public lands director at the Center for Biological Diversity, which organized a letter of opposition on the tree bill from dozens of environment groups to the House natural resources committee.
“The science is very clear,” Spivak said. “We need to slash our carbon pollution by 50% over the next 10 years if we want to avert the worst impacts of global warming and keep global warming to a 1.5C increase.”
The Republican party has seen a pendulum swing. In 2008, its election platform emphasized the importance of cutting emissions. By 2016, Donald Trump ran on a campaign of climate denial.
Now at least some prominent Republicans are breaking from the president and veering away from questioning the science and toward efforts that do not directly attack the coal, oil and gas industries. Facing pushback from the far right, on the other side of the aisle they are criticized by some Democrats who believe they are not proposing legislation in good faith.
Even someone who’s not a forester should be able to recognize an olive branch when they see one Congressman Bruce Westerman
Alex Flint, executive director of the Alliance for Market Solutions – a right-of-center organization that advocates reducing carbon pollution while growing the US economy – said the House bills were “directionally correct” but “need to grow to address the scale of our climate problem”.
Flint’s group backs revenue-neutral carbon tax and deregulation.
“I give [House Republicans] a great deal of credit for acknowledging the problem and stepping forward with proposals and recognizing that the politics of this has changed,” he said. “But also acknowledging that they are in the early stages of really substantive climate proposals.”
Bruce Westerman, an Arkansas Republican who introduced the trees bill, insisted his proposal would curb emissions even as it promotes logging.
When trees are cut down, they stop absorbing carbon. Westerman, a forester who worked for an engineering consulting firm in the timber, pulp and paper business, said forest managers would just plant them again.
Products made from the trees would pay for continual planting, he said, and the wood would be used for sustainable buildings with lower emissions footprints.
A scientist called to testify by Democrats, Yale ecology professor Carla Staver, strongly disagreed with Westerman’s proposals.
Forest management is an important way to fight climate change but it is not enough and it must be done properly, experts agree. A bill from Democrats would aim to conserve forests without increasing logging and by banning oil and gas drilling on public lands if climate emissions exceed targets.
Bruce Westerman. Photograph: Katheleen Williams
Westerman told the Guardian Democrats should be working with Republicans who want to address climate change.
“Even someone who’s not a forester should be able to recognize an olive branch when they see one,” he said.
Even as Westerman defended his bill, the top Republican on his committee seemed to dismiss the overall effort.
At the beginning of the meeting, to which he was late, Rob Bishop of Utah suggested the elevators in House office buildings would be more timely under the rule of Benito Mussolini than they are with Democrats in charge. Democratic climate proposals, he said, offered not a “silver bullet” to fix the problem but “another bullet that is going to be used to shoot ourselves in the foot”.
He then showed a graph demonstrating how US heat-trapping emissions have declined over time.
While the Republican bills are far from aggressive, the right of the party is pushing back. The conservative Club for Growth Pac painted the package as “stifling liberal environmental taxes, regulations, and subsidies” and vowed to withhold support from any backers.
At the annual CPAC gathering near Washington, the climate change denial group the Heartland Institute presented a German teen activist who calls herself a “climate sceptic” as a foil to Greta Thunberg.
In Oregon, Republican state senators fled the state capitol in order to derail a climate change bill.
Despite that backdrop, the top Democrat on the House natural resources committee welcomed Westerman’s proposal. Raúl Grijalva said he hoped for a “new chapter”, focusing on solutions not denial.
He said: “For too long my friends on the other side of aisle denied that this was even a real issue. They would reject or even mock the overwhelming scientific consensus that climate is warming humans are responsible and urgent action needs to be taken.”


theguardian--2020-03-04--Super Tuesday: first polls close in crucial contests as Democrats battle for nomination

The first polls have closed on Super Tuesday – the most consequential voting day of the Democratic presidential primary race – after millions of voters across the US cast their ballots for the candidate they want to see take on Donald Trump in the November election .
Vermont senator Bernie Sanders headed into this critical day as the frontrunner , well positioned to dominate in two of the biggest states with the support of energized liberals , young voters and Latinos .
But the race had shifted dramatically in the 72-hours between the South Carolina primary and polls opening on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ blunt the sudden rise of Joe Biden , emboldened by a wave of endorsements from the former vice-president ’ s ex-rivals Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg , who both dropped out of the race in recent days .
Sanders and Biden represent starkly different visions for the Democratic party and the country .
The choice may be clearer after Tuesday , when a third of all Democratic delegates will be awarded .
“ The political establishment has made their choice : Anybody but Bernie Sanders , ” Sanders campaign manager Faiz Shakir wrote @ @ @ @ @ @ @ At a rally in Dallas on Monday night , Klobuchar urged the Democratic party to unite around Biden .
She was joined on stage former Texas congressman and one-time presidential candidate Beto O ’ Rourke , who also announced his support for Biden .
“ We need to unite our party and our country and to do it not just with our words , but with our actions , ” Klobuchar said .
“ If we spend the next four months dividing our party and going at each other , we will spend @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tear apart this country , ” she added .
The day will also test for the first time the strength of billionaire former New York mayor Mike Bloomberg , who skipped the early voting states and poured millions of dollars into a campaign that has focused on Super Tuesday .
Fourteen states , from California to Virginia , and Arkansas to Massachusetts , are holding caucuses or primaries as the race moves from a series of intimate , single-day contests to something more akin to a national vote .
By the time polls @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ET , nearly 40 % of the total delegates to the party ’ s convention will have been awarded .
That means Super Tuesday has the potential to clarify a dramatically unsettled race .
But it is still unclear whether any candidate will establish a controlling advantage .
If that happens , it would pave the way toward a contested convention , the likes of which the party has not seen since 1952 .
Biden ’ s commanding victory in South Carolina on Saturday revived his flagging campaign and positioned him as the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a Democratic socialist who is the most progressive of the candidates .
Yet Sanders remains powerfully positioned to expand his narrow delegate lead following strong showings in the early voting states of Iowa , New Hampshire and Nevada .
But Bloomberg remains something of a wildcard .
The field of major Democratic candidates – which reached more than two dozen at its height last year – has narrowed to five people , including Biden , Sanders , Bloomberg , the Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren and the long-shot Hawaii congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ dropouts in recent days .
Klobuchar quit the race on Monday .
The California billionaire Tom Steyer dropped out on Saturday , having spent hundreds of millions of dollars on his campaign to win just two delegates .
And on Sunday , the former mayor of South Bend , Indiana , Pete Buttigieg – a moderate and relative political unknown who managed a strong showing in the early voting states – ended his campaign , with a warning against a Sanders-style politics , though he did not invoke the senator ’ s name @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a divided nation , not drive us further apart , ” said Buttigieg , who endorsed Biden on Monday .
“ We need a broad-based agenda that can truly deliver for the American people , not one that gets lost in ideology.
” Sanders , who raised a staggering $ 46m in February alone , has benefited from a fractured opposition .
While Biden , Bloomberg , and , to a lesser degree , Warren , compete for overlapping shares of the Democratic electorate , Sanders has edged past by consolidating support among @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In recent weeks , Democratic leaders and officials have warned that a splintered result on Super Tuesday would put Sanders on a runaway path to the nomination .
Biden ’ s burst of support has not yet quelled those fears .
“ You ’ re making them really nervous , ” Sanders said at a rally that drew more than 15,000 people in downtown Los Angeles on Sunday .
“ They ’ re getting quite upset.
” Propelled by young voters and Latinos , Sanders holds a commanding lead in California and Texas @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the South Carolina primary .
They are the two states with the highest number of delegates to award on Tuesday .
If Sanders opens a wide lead , it could become mathematically difficult for his rivals to catch him .
But Biden hopes the momentum from his decisive victory in South Carolina will carry him into states with large African American electorates , like Alabama , Arkansas and Virginia , where he has been boosted by a slate of new endorsements from national lawmakers and local leaders .
Perhaps no candidate stands to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
His support has more than doubled since his late entry in November , but recent polling suggests he has lost ground after a widely criticized debate performance last month , during which he came under attack for his past comments on women and people of color .
Speaking to reporters from a campaign stop in Miami on Tuesday morning , Bloomberg said his only path to the nomination may be a contested convention .
“ I don ’ t think I can win any other way , ” he said , acknowledging @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 14 states voting on Tuesday .
“ I don ’ t know that we ’ re going to win any.
” Democrats award delegates proportionally , dividing the spoils between any candidate who reaches a 15 % threshold in a state or its congressional districts .
If the result is split in delegate-rich states like California and Texas , Democrats expect a drawn-out primary race that could last all the way to the party ’ s convention in Milwaukee in July .
Warren faces an uphill battle on Tuesday after a string of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Roger Lau , outlined in a memo released on Sunday how the Massachusetts senator could still win the Democratic nomination .
Lau argued that no candidate is likely to accumulate enough delegates to win the nomination outright .
He touted as signs of strength the campaign ’ s biggest fundraising totals to date , increased ad spending in critical states and an expected delegate pickup on Super Tuesday from “ nearly every state ” .
“ We ’ re in this race for the long haul , ” he wrote , adding : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the Wisconsin primary is halftime , and the convention in Milwaukee is the final play .
”

The former vice-president Joe Biden surged to Super Tuesday victories in nine states, sweeping the south and taking the key state of Texas in a remarkable comeback on the most pivotal night of the Democratic presidential primary race.
His rival, Bernie Sanders, won the crucial state of California, according to the Associated Press, where 415 delegates – more than any other state in the Democratic primary – were up for grabs. Exit polls indicated that the Vermont senator had an approximate 15-point lead, though final results may not be confirmed for days.
The win gave Sanders a much-needed boost after a rejuvenated Biden swept the southern states of Virginia, North Carolina, Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee and Oklahoma, propelled by black voters, and scored surprise wins in Massachusetts and Minnesota, before topping the winning streak with the delegate-rich state of Texas.
“It’s a good night and it seems to be getting better,” Biden told supporters in Los Angeles. “They don’t call it Super Tuesday for nothing.”
The two candidates, both in their late seventies, emerged as the frontrunners in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination on Super Tuesday, when 14 states and two US territories had their say. Sanders, a Democratic socialist and the most progressive candidate in the race, represents a starkly different vision for the Democratic party and the country from Biden, a moderate who has run on his record as Barack Obama’s vice-president.
01:24 Biden triumphs, Sanders hits back and Warren fights on: how Super Tuesday unfolded – video report
Senator Elizabeth Warren came in a disappointing third place in her home state of Massachusetts and struggled to break through the viability threshold of 15% in other states. Speaking in Detroit, ahead of Michigan’s primary next week, Warren appeared defiant, saying: “You don’t get what you don’t fight for. I am in this fight.”
The California result came in after Sanders took an early home-state win in Vermont as expected, and followed with a win in Colorado and Utah. After the Vermont result, a huge roar went up at Sanders’ Super Tuesday rally in his home town of Burlington, with chants of “Bernie! Bernie! Bernie!”
But Biden’s victories in heavily African American states complemented the former vice-president’s resounding win in Saturday’s South Carolina primary and presented a serious challenge for Sanders, who went into Super Tuesday with a narrow lead.
Bernie Sanders and his wife, Jane O’Meara Sanders, take the stage during a Super Tuesday rally in Essex Junction, Vermont, on 3 March. Photograph: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
The billionaire former New York mayor Mike Bloomberg, who appeared on the ballot for the first time in the Super Tuesday states, did not see his $500m gamble pay dividends.
Bloomberg, who has funneled huge sums of his fortune into his own campaign, won the US territory of American Samoa, which has just six delegates in play, but was poised to receive no delegates in Virginia, where he spent nearly $18m on advertising.
Exit polls also indicated Bloomberg was struggling to clear the 15% threshold required to net delegates in North Carolina, where he spent more than $17m and built a large field operation.
Bloomberg would discuss with his advisers on Wednesday “whether there’s a reason to continue with this”, NBC News reported.
“As the results come in here’s what is clear: no matter how many delegates we win tonight, we’ve done something no one else thought was possible,” Bloomberg said in a 10-minute speech to supporters in West Palm Beach, Florida. “We’ve gone from one per cent in the polls to being a contender for the Democratic presidential nomination.”
Super Tuesday is the most consequential voting day of the Democratic presidential primary race, with millions of voters across the US casting their ballots for the candidate they want to see take on Donald Trump in the November election.
Sanders headed into this critical day as the frontrunner, well positioned to dominate in California and Texas with the support of energized liberals, young voters and Latinos.
But the race had shifted dramatically in the 72 hours between the South Carolina primary and polls opening on Tuesday, and Sanders was fighting to blunt the sudden rise of Biden, emboldened by a wave of endorsements from the former vice-president’s moderate ex-rivals the Minnesota senator Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, who both dropped out of the race in recent days.
“If we spend the next four months dividing our party and going at each other, we will spend the next four years watching Donald Trump tear apart this country,” Klobuchar said.
Fourteen states, from California to Virginia, and Arkansas to Massachusetts, held primaries on Super Tuesday, as the race moved from a series of intimate, single-day contests to something more akin to a national vote. On Wednesday, nearly 40% of the total delegates to the party’s convention, who eventually nominate the presidential candidate, will have been awarded.
Super Tuesday traditionally has the potential to clarify a dramatically unsettled race. But it was still unclear whether Biden or Sanders would establish a controlling advantage. The uncertainty could pave the way toward a contested convention, the likes of which the party has not seen since 1952.
Sanders, who raised a staggering $46m in February alone, has benefited from a fractured opposition. While Biden, Bloomberg, and, to a lesser degree, Warren, compete for overlapping shares of the Democratic electorate, Sanders has edged past by consolidating support among the party’s left wing.
Bernie Sanders supporters hold signs during a Super Tuesday rally in Essex Junction, Vermont, on 3 March. Photograph: Charles Krupa/AP
In recent weeks, Democratic leaders and officials have warned that a splintered result on Super Tuesday would put Sanders on a runaway path to the nomination.
But on Tuesday night, Sanders put on the bravest face he could. “I am excited about where we are,” he told supporters. “We have come a long, long way, now let’s go on to the White House.”
Though he didn’t mention the former vice-president by name, he pointedly criticised him over his vote for the war on Iraq and his support for “disastrous trade agreements which cost us millions of good-paying jobs”.
“You cannot beat Trump with the same-old, same-old kind of politics,” Sanders declared.
Democrats award delegates proportionally, dividing the spoils between any candidate who reaches a 15% threshold in a state or its congressional districts. If the result is split, Democrats expect a drawn-out primary race that could last all the way to the party’s convention in Milwaukee in July, where a nominee will be decided.
Perhaps no candidate stood to lose more on Super Tuesday than Bloomberg. His support has more than doubled since his late entry in November, but recent polling suggests he has lost ground after a widely criticized debate performance last month, during which he came under attack for his past comments on women and people of color.
Speaking to reporters from a campaign stop in Miami on Tuesday morning, Bloomberg said his only path to the nomination may be a contested convention.
“I don’t think I can win any other way,” he said, acknowledging that he faced long odds in the 14 states voting on Tuesday. “I don’t know that we’re going to win any.”
American Samoa awarded the long-shot candidate Hawaii congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard one delegate, but that could be enough to secure her place at the next Democratic presidential debate in Arizona, which votes on 17 March with Florida, Ohio and Illinois.
Republican primaries were also taking place on Tuesday, but as Trump does not face any serious competition, the Democratic contest took the spotlight.
Additional reporting by Daniel Strauss in Richmond, Virginia, Richard Luscombe in West Palm Beach, Florida, and Ed Pilkington in Essex Junction, Vermont


theguardian--2020-03-04--Super Tuesday: crucial vote to show if 'Biden bump' is enough to stop Sanders – live

The polls in Vermont and Virginia have just closed , but both states have already been called because of the @ @ @ @ @ Bernie Sanders has won his home state of Vermont , as expected , but Joe @ @ @ @ @ declared the winner of Virginia .
Election experts were closely watching Virginia for signs of @ @ @ @ @ bounce .
The immediate call for Biden indicates he likely won the state by a @ @ @

5 Mar 2020 00.10 GMT Warren shakes hands with Sanders at the conclusion of the ninth Democratic 2020 U.S. Presidential candidates debate in Las Vegas Nevada. Photograph: Mike Blake/Reuters Surrogates and allies of Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders are reportedly discussing strategies to unite to push a progressive agenda, the Washington Post reports. The expectation is that Warren, who has persisted despite a series of campaign setbacks, would drop out: The conversations, which are in an early phase, largely involve members of Congress who back Sanders (I-Vt.) reaching out to those in Warren’s camp to explore the prospect that Warren (D-Mass.) might endorse him. They are also appealing to Warren’s supporters to switch their allegiance to Sanders, according two people with direct knowledge of the conversations who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss delicate discussions that are supposed to be confidential. The whirlwind of activity reflects the rapid changes in a Democratic primary that is still very much in transition. As late as Tuesday, many Warren allies believed she would stay in the race until the Democratic convention, despite her poor showing to date in the primaries, in hopes of retaining her clout and influencing the eventual nominee.
Updated at 00.13 GMT
4 Mar 2020 23.43 GMT The Guardian’s Saad Ejaz was at Michael Bloomberg’s farewell speech earlier today, here’s his report from the room … Michael Bloomberg gave his last public appearance as a presidential nominee today, consoling a room full of staff and supporters at a Manhattan Hotel. “Mike will get it done,” the crowd chanted, rather unenthusiastically, as they waited for Bloomberg.
“I entered the race for the president to defeat Donald Trump,” explained Bloomberg once he took the stage, “And today I am leaving the race for the same reason.” Super Tuesday marked the first time the billionaire, his message or his money had been tested. The numbers were not kind. “I’ve always believed that data should inform our decision,” he admitted, “After Yesterday’s results, the delegate math had become virtually impossible and a viable path to the nomination just no longer existed.” Instead, it was time to unite behind one candidate to defeat Donald Trump, Bloomberg said, and that could only be his “friend and a great American” Joe Biden.
“I am glad to say that I endorse Joe Biden, and I hope you will join me in working to make him the next president of the United states,” Bloomberg said of the candidate who, just 11 weeks before, he was unconvinced could beat Trump or run the country.
“He’s never been the manager of an organization, he’s never run a school system,” Bloomberg told MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle in December.“The presidency shouldn’t be a training job.”
Earlier today, Mike Bloomberg took the stage one last time as presidential candidate.
Here's what the crowd was like. pic.twitter.com/lwrzrurU6g — Saad Ejaz (@msaadejaz) March 4, 2020 Many of Bloomberg’s supporters were in a somber mood; some were in tears as the speech ended. “I’m just so sad and disappointed,” said Margaret Brick, who has supported Bloomberg for the past 17 years, “But I think he’s really going to help Joe.”
Other members of the campaign, like Abdul Malik, were not as sure of Joe Biden. Malik had worked with the Bloomberg campaign to increase outreach with people of color.
“I don’t know about Joe Biden yet,” said Malik, “My biggest issue is criminal justice reform and no one else comes close to Bloomberg’s plan.”
Bloomberg himself was overcome with emotion, as he reflected on his campaign’s journey.“I’m just amazed at how many have stood with me shoulder to shoulder,” he said at the verge of tears, “Working and fighting every step of the way.”
“And you do it because you love America as much as I do and that’s all I could ever ask for.”
4 Mar 2020 23.29 GMT Lindsey Graham, a staunch Trump ally, told CNN that Joe Biden would be a tough opponent in the election. Lindsey Graham on Trump facing Biden in a general: "I think he would be tough. I think Joe Biden's got a good reputation and he'd be tough, he'd be more moderate than Bernie, but I still think it's Trump's to lose." pic.twitter.com/WMUzrghILu — Manu Raju (@mkraju) March 4, 2020 “I think Joe Biden’s got a good reputation,” said Graham, a Republican senator of South Carolina. “He’d be more moderate than Bernie, but I still think it’s Trump’s to lose.” Biden’s victory in Graham’s home state is what gave the firmer vice president’s flagging campaign the boost and momentum to take on Super Tuesday.
Updated at 23.29 GMT
4 Mar 2020 23.20 GMT Chuck Schumer’s team has responded to Chief Justice John Roberts’ reprimand. In a rare statement, Roberts described a speech that Schumer delivered as the Supreme Court considered a case that could result in grave new abortion restrictions as “threatening”. Schumer had said that the Trump-appointed justices would pay a price for restricting abortion access.
“Sen. Schumer’s comments were a reference to the political price Senate Republicans will pay for putting these justices on the court, and a warning that the justices will unleash a major grassroots movement on the issue of reproductive rights against the decision,” said the senator’s spokesperson Justin Goodman in a statement. “For Justice Roberts to follow the right wing’s deliberate misinterpretation of what Sen. Schumer said, while remaining silent when President Trump attacked Justices Sotomayor and Ginsberg last week, shows Justice Roberts does not just call balls and strikes.”
4 Mar 2020 23.05 GMT Joe Biden: 'Trump poses an existential threat' Sam Levin After his big Super Tuesday wins, Biden just held a very brief press conference at a Los Angeles hotel, making about a dozen supporters and a large crowd of journalists wait over an hour for roughly seven minutes of remarks. He did not speak about Bloomberg’s departure or his remaining rivals in the race, saying:
“What we can’t let happen in the next few weeks is let this primary turn into a campaign of negative attacks. The only thing that can do is help Donald Trump ... Donald Trump poses an existential threat to our standing in the world.” “What we cant let happen in the best few weeks is let this primary turn into a campaign of negative attacks. The only thing that can do is help Donald Trump.” - Biden in LA pic.twitter.com/bk6v6pzXc3 — Sam Levin (@SamTLevin) March 4, 2020 “We are going to take this fight all across America to rebuild the middle class,” said Biden, who appeared relatively subdued in the small hotel conference room at the W Los Angeles in Westwood.
Biden ignored reporters’ questions as he walked out, but briefly responded to one question about criticisms that he is part of the Democratic “establishment”, saying, “The establishment are all those hard-working middle-class people, those African Americans...”
LA mayor Eric Garcetti, a Biden supporter, showed up, but made no remarks.
Lulu Lima, an 18-year-old supporter who also stood behind Biden, told me after that her father is a union member and supporter of the candidate. She said she was grateful to cast her first-ever vote for Biden and felt excited about his surge: “It’s awesome to see what can happen ... It means never lose hope, and in a broader sense, never lose hope for this nation.” Lulu Lima, 18, stood behind @JoeBiden today at his LA press conference. Her dad is a union supporter. She said Biden’s recent surge was a reminder to “never lose hope.” She said she avoids talking politics with friends or others her age who are Bernie supporters. pic.twitter.com/ZHA2h4oWUF — Sam Levin (@SamTLevin) March 4, 2020
Asked if she was confident Biden would win, she said, “All we can do is hope.” She said she avoids talking about politics with friends or others her age who are Sanders supporters: “It’s important for individuals to have their own beliefs.”
4 Mar 2020 22.57 GMT Donald Trump’s response to criticisms of his coronavirus response: Thanks, Obama. The president blamed a federal agency decision during Barack Obama’s administration, which Trump said made it harder to quickly roll out testing for the virus.
“The Obama administration made a decision on testing that turned out to be very detrimental to what we’re doing, and we undid that decision a few days ago so that the testing can take place in a much more accurate and rapid fashion,” he told reporters during a White House meeting with airline executives, whom he had called to discuss the economic effects of the outbreak. “That was a decision we disagreed with,” he said. I don’t think we would have made it, but for some reason, it was made.” It’s unclear what decision, exactly, Trump is referring to. The Trump administration has been criticized for dismantling an Obama effort to respond to global health emergencies more quickly. The president has also come under fire for not rolling out widespread testing for coronavirus more quickly, and spreading false information about the disease. White House's 'muzzled' coronavirus messaging is dangerous, experts say Read more
Updated at 22.59 GMT
4 Mar 2020 22.37 GMT Sanders held a press conference at his campaign office in Burlington, Vermont. Photograph: Caitlin Ochs/Reuters Bernie Sanders admitted he hadn’t been as successful as he’d hoped at galvanizing youth turnout. “Have we been as successful as I would hope in bringing young people in? And the answer is no,” he said, speaking at his campaign headquarters in Vermont. “We’re making some progress. But historically younger people do not vote in the kind of numbers that older people vote in. I think that will change in the general election.” He told reporters he was “disappointed” by the Super Tuesday results. “Of course I’m disappointed,” he said. “I would like to win every state by a landslide. It’s not going to happen.” But he emphasized the importance of upcoming races Michigan and other midwestern states, where he and Joe Biden are competing to win over working-class voters — to whom both candidates seem to appeal. “Joe and I are running very different campaigns,” he said. “And my hope is that in the coming months, we will be able to debate and discuss the very significant differences that we have.”
Updated at 22.39 GMT
4 Mar 2020 22.17 GMT Hi, there! It’s Maanvi Singh, blogging from the West Coast. In a rare statement, Chief Justice John Roberts denounced comments from Senator Chuck Schumer, who spoke at a rally outside the Supreme Court as the court heard oral arguments in a case that could result in new restrictions on abortion access. “Justices know that criticism comes with the territory, but threatening statements of this sort from the highest levels of government are not only inappropriate, they are dangerous,” Roberts said. Schumer has said that Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh — Trump’s Supreme Court appointees — “won’t know what hit” them if they voted to uphold abortion restrictions. “I want to tell you Gorsuch, I want to tell you Kavanaugh, you have released the whirlwind and you will pay the price,” Schumer said. US supreme court takes up most high-profile abortion case in decades Read more
Updated at 22.19 GMT
4 Mar 2020 22.00 GMT Today so far That’s it from me today. My west coast colleague, Maanvi Singh, will take over the blog for the next few hours. Here’s where the day stands so far: The House easily passed a bill aimed at limiting the spread of coronavirus. The bill, which lays out $8 billion in funding to combat the health threat, advanced to the Senate on a vote of 415 to 2.
The bill, which lays out $8 billion in funding to combat the health threat, advanced to the Senate on a vote of 415 to 2. Mike Bloomberg delivered an emotional speech to supporters after suspending his presidential campaign and endorsing Joe Biden. The former New York mayor expressed pride in the race he ran, even though the billionaire candidate spent $500 million and failed to win a single Super Tuesday state.
The former New York mayor expressed pride in the race he ran, even though the billionaire candidate spent $500 million and failed to win a single Super Tuesday state. Bernie Sanders predicted he and Biden would be “neck and neck” in the nominating contest after California’s delegates are allocated. Sanders was declared the winner of California, where 415 pledged delegates are up for grabs, as soon as polls closed, but Biden’s 10 victories elsewhere will likely give him the lead in delegates.
Sanders was declared the winner of California, where 415 pledged delegates are up for grabs, as soon as polls closed, but Biden’s 10 victories elsewhere will likely give him the lead in delegates. Elizabeth Warren said she was considering next steps for her campaign after a disappointing Super Tuesday performance. Warren’s campaign manager said the Massachusetts senator was “talking with our team to assess the path forward.”
Warren’s campaign manager said the Massachusetts senator was “talking with our team to assess the path forward.” US markets rallied after Biden’s strong Super Tuesday showing. After a string of market losses tied to concerns about coronavirus, investors appeared to breathe a sigh of relief about Sanders’ sinking fortunes in the presidential primary. Maanvi will have more coming up, so stay tuned.