usatoday--2020-03-03--Biden faces big test with Latino voters on Super Tuesday as he seeks to cut into Sanders' strength

WASHINGTON – Joe Biden ’ s chances of staying competitive with Bernie Sanders after Super Tuesday may rest on whether he can broaden his support with Hispanic voters who have so far gravitated overwhelmingly toward the Vermont senator .
In California and Texas , the two biggest prizes in the bonanza of Super Tuesday contests , about 30 % of eligible voters are Latino .
Recent polls taken before Biden ’ s big win in South Carolina Saturday show Sanders has nearly three times the support among Latino Democrats in California as Biden and a 12 percentage-point lead over Biden @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sanders is going to get a delegate lead .
It ’ s just a question of how much , ” said Kyle Kondik , an analyst at the University of Virginia ’ s Center for Politics .
“ If Biden can accumulate support and prevent Sanders ’ support among Hispanics from going up as candidates drop out , then it becomes more doable.
” Texas appears to be a particular focus for Biden , where he held an election-eve rally and was endorsed by former competitors Pete Buttigieg , Amy Klobuchar and Beto @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar of Texas and by state Rep. Jessica González .
`` You feel the momentum after he had his win ( in South Carolina ) .
I was very excited about that , '' González said .
`` I worry about what it will mean for us as a country if we have Bernie at the top of the ticket , what that means for us as far as keeping the U.S. House , trying to flip the Senate back to Democrat control , what it means for our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ showed Sanders won about half the Latino vote in Nevada , where he also collected the majority of delegates , cementing his frontrunner status .
And Latinos make up an even larger share of the electorate in California and Texas , which together will deliver nearly half the delegates at stake Tuesday .
This is the first time both states have voted on the same day , much less done so this early in the process .
It ’ s also the first year Latinos are expected to be the nation ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ presidential election .
Any candidate who amasses a big enough delegate lead from California alone could be tough to beat .
Because Democrats ’ award delegates proportionally , instead of using a winner-take-all system , it ’ s difficult to build a lead but hard for others to catch up once that happens .
Recent polls have Sanders leading in California where a Univision News , Latino Community Foundation and North Star Opinion Research survey released Monday showed him backed by 42 % of Latino Democrats registered to vote .
Biden was backed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Hispanics are afraid to vote because they don ’ t think that their voices are going to be heard , ” said Selene Canchola , a 27-year-old Sanders supporter from Coachella , a 98 % Latino city in the South California desert .
“ With him , I feel like it will be heard.
” Sanders is also leading with Hispanics in Texas .
But polls show a tighter race there than in California .
`` I 'm leaning Elizabeth Warren , ” said Jen Ramos , 27 , who lives in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ city of Laredo .
`` Bernie Sanders is also in mind . ''
Biden should benefit from the fact that African Americans – one of the voting blocs Biden does best with – are a much larger share of the population in Texas than in California .
Black people have been substantially more likely than Latinos to vote .
And there are a slew of southern states voting Tuesday with significant African American populations .
Biden needs to do well enough in states like Virginia , Tennessee and North Carolina to stay in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a demographer at the Brookings Institution .
“ The real question , ” he said , “ is how Sanders ’ success with the Latino vote ... will do against how well Biden will do with the black vote in much of the rest of the South.
” ` He 's a socialist and I 'm not ' : Will moderates warm up to Bernie Sanders as Super Tuesday approaches ?
Sanders ' support from Latinos is a reversal from 2016 when Hillary Clinton beat him in most states where Latinos made up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The exception was Colorado , which also votes March 3 .
Sanders ’ 2016 spokeswoman said at the time that Sanders , whose home state of Vermont has one of the smallest Hispanic populations in the nation , wasn ’ t yet as well known in the Hispanic community as Clinton was .
After that loss , Sanders worked to strengthen those ties .
“ He ’ s been in these places since the last election , ” said Stephen Nuño-Perez , director of communications and senior analyst for the polling firm @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t pull up stakes after 2016.
” In fact , Sanders was explicit about making Latinos a cornerstone of his 2020 campaign .
“ The one thing that we learned at the end of 2016 was that Latinos were drawn to Bernie Sanders ' message , ” senior adviser Chuck Rocha said .
“ So we wanted to start the campaign in the Latino neighborhood and build our campaign out from the Latino vote.
” Rather than having a specific Latino outreach director or Latino department , the campaign prioritized hiring Latinos at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Texas include one in McAllen , near the U.S.-Mexico border , where the population is 85 % Latino .
One of the 22 field offices in California is in East Los Angeles , which is nearly 96 % Latino .
The first ads the campaign ran in Iowa and Nevada were in Spanish .
In some , Sanders touted the fact that he is a son of an immigrant .
The campaign has hosted organizing events specialized for Latinos , such as soccer tournaments , where elote was sold .
At Sanders @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a Tex-Mex punk band Piñata Protest was an opener for the event .
The campaign has house parties geared towards Latinos , some called “ Tamales for Tío Bernie.
” “ I call him Tío Bernie , ” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez , the superstar Latina politician said when she gave Sanders a huge boost by endorsing him not long after his heart attack last fall raised questions about his campaign 's viability .
Sanders ’ campaign had hoped his cultivation of Latinos would give him a strong start .
But while Sanders won @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Buttigieg emerged with the delegate lead .
Sanders more than made up for that in Nevada , despite the criticism of his signature health care plan from the influential , and heavily Hispanic , Culinary Workers Union .
Union leaders warned that Medicare for All would end the generous health care plan they ’ d fought hard for .
But many rank-and-file members saw Sanders ’ universal health care plan as a way for everyone to get decent care .
Health care is a top issue for Latino voters , and they largely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Latino voters in Texas , 51 % are strongly in favor of Medicare for All , and 30 % are somewhat in favor of the plan .
Medicare for All is a top reason Sanders has won the support of Danaury Lorenzo , a voter in Austin , Texas .
The fact that Sanders ' health plan includes helping senior citizens pay for long-term care especially `` touches home for me . ''
Lorenzo , who is originally from New York City , said his grandmother recently struggled to get a home care @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had to get on the phone every single day to fight with providers to get the care , '' he said .
While immigration issues are important to Hispanics , some polls show even more interest in bread-and-butter issues like health care , the economy and affordable housing , said Frey of the Brookings Institution .
“ You listen to Sanders talk , it ’ s pretty clear what he ’ s for , ” Frey said .
“ Those kinds of messages resonate.
” 'He 's there to help the poor' Teresa @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Calif. , who is job hunting , isn ’ t sure who she will vote for Tuesday .
But she likes what she ’ s heard about Sanders so far .
“ He ’ s there to help the poor , ” Garcia said , as she worked through a list of possible jobs that she had scrawled in a notebook .
Sanders led in a recent California poll by the Public Policy Institute of California , getting 32 % of support .
Most of the other Democrats were clustered together in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was backed by about half the Hispanics surveyed and about half of younger California Democrats .
The Hispanic population in general is younger and Sanders ’ promises of free college education , free health care and his aggressive plan to tackle climate change may particularly resonate with younger voters .
“ If these findings hold up , I think similar to Nevada , this is going to help him a great deal in California , ” said Mark Baldassare , the institute ’ s president and CEO .
Other Democrats also have support @ @ @ @ @ @ @ California , however , is endorsements from the state ’ s influential Latino Legislative Caucus or any of the Latino members of the congressional delegation .
“ Latinos , especially in places like California , are now establishment members of the party infrastructure , ” said Nuño-Perez of Latino Decisions .
“ Today , asking them to endorse someone like Bernie , who is a little bit outside of the mainstream for Democrats , is kind of a big ask.
” State Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez , the chair of the Latino Legislative Caucus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Gonzalez said California Latinos want progressive leaders but “ they also want to get things done.
” “ For every issue that I care about , from immigration to income inequality , health care , she ’ s right on the policies – and she ’ s got an actual plan to make it happen , ” Gonzalez said .
Sanders ' big win in Nevada did n't help him much with African American voters in South Carolina and it 's unclear if Biden 's South Carolina blowout will help him with Hispanics @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the University of Virginia Center for Politics .
`` If Sanders dominates with Hispanic voters , and he wins the nomination , '' Kondik said , `` it may mark a real changing of the guard moment in Democratic primary politics in which the Hispanic vote might be seen as important as the African American vote . ''
According to a Univision/University of Houston poll released Friday , Sanders was leading at 26 % in Texas , with 31 % of Latinos sayin they backed the Vermont senator .
Biden and Bloomberg @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But Bloomberg was slightly more popular with Latino voters than Biden , with the former New York City mayor garnering 23 % with Latinos and Biden at 19 % .
Lifelong San Antonio resident Noah Fuentes , 24 , had already voted for Warren by the time he attended her rally last Thursday .
“ Nothing that I ’ m gon na hear today , I don ’ t think , will un-sell me from that decision , ” Noah Fuentes said .
He was a Julian Castro supporter before the former @ @ @ @ @ @ @ race .
When Castro endorsed Warren , Noah Fuentes said it felt natural to support Warren .
“ I don ’ t want to see another old white guy in the White House again , ” Noah Fuentes said .
“ I ’ m excited to see some form of diversity , whether it be a woman , a Latino , a person of color .
Living as a minority , I think it brings a power to the office , and I think it brings a different perception.
” Mark Jones , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Rice University , doubts Sanders will get half the Latino vote in Texas as he did in Nevada .
Warren , whose top surrogate is Castro , will likely peel off a decent share of the vote , as will Biden , Jones said .
“ We feel very good with where we 're at with the Latino community , ” Isabel Aldunate , Biden campaign deputy director of strategic communications , told USA TODAY .
“ Of course , the Sanders campaign is doing well , as well .
But we have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The community knows Joe , and he knows them .
”

Maureen Groppe, Rebecca Morin, John C Moritz Austin Bureau USA TODAY NETWORK and Rebecca Plevin, USA TODAY

Biden faces big test with Latino voters on Super Tuesday as he seeks to cut into Sanders' strength
Show Caption Hide Caption Super Tuesday vote: Who's in, who's out, and how did we get here? Super Tuesday: who's in, who's out, and how did the field get narrowed to the candidates still in? Matthew Sobocinski, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON – Joe Biden’s chances of staying competitive with Bernie Sanders after Super Tuesday may rest on whether he can broaden his support with Hispanic voters, who have so far gravitated overwhelmingly toward the Vermont senator.
In California and Texas, the two biggest prizes in the bonanza of Super Tuesday contests, about 30% of eligible voters are Latino.
Recent polls taken before Biden’s big win in South Carolina on Saturday show Sanders has nearly three times the support among Latino Democrats in California as Biden and a 12 percentage-point lead over Biden with Latino Democrats in Texas.
“Sanders is going to get a delegate lead. It’s just a question of how much,” said Kyle Kondik, an analyst at the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics. “If Biden can accumulate support and prevent Sanders’ support among Hispanics from going up as candidates drop out, then it becomes more doable.”
Live Super Tuesday updates: the latest news on what's happening across the 14 states and one US territory
What is Super Tuesday and why is it important? A previous version of this video displayed an incorrect date in a graphic. It was 1988 when 14 Southern and border states held their primaries. Just the FAQs, USA TODAY
Texas appears to be a particular focus for Biden, where he held an election-eve rally and was endorsed by former competitors Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar and Beto O'Rourke. He was also backed Monday by Rep. Veronica Escobar of Texas and by state Rep. Jessica González.
"You feel the momentum after he had his win (in South Carolina). I was very excited about that," González said. "I worry about what it will mean for us as a country if we have Bernie at the top of the ticket, what that means for us as far as keeping the U.S. House, trying to flip the Senate back to Democrat control, what it means for our state races too."
Entrance polls showed Sanders won about half the Latino vote in Nevada, where he also collected the majority of delegates, cementing his frontrunner status. And Latinos make up an even larger share of the electorate in California and Texas, which together will deliver nearly half the delegates at stake Tuesday.
This is the first time both states have voted on the same day, much less done so this early in the process. It’s also the first year Latinos are expected to be the nation’s largest racial or ethnic minority in a presidential election.
Any candidate who amasses a big enough delegate lead from California alone could be tough to beat.
Because Democrats’ award delegates proportionally, instead of using a winner-take-all system, it’s difficult to build a lead but hard for others to catch up once that happens.
Recent polls have Sanders leading in California where a Univision News, Latino Community Foundation and North Star Opinion Research survey released Monday showed him backed by 42% of Latino Democrats registered to vote. Biden was backed by 15%.
“A lot of Hispanics are afraid to vote because they don’t think that their voices are going to be heard,” said Selene Canchola, a 27-year-old Sanders supporter from Coachella, a 98% Latino city in the South California desert. “With him, I feel like it will be heard.”
Sanders is also leading with Hispanics in Texas. But polls show a tighter race there than in California.
"I'm leaning Elizabeth Warren,” said Jen Ramos, 27, who lives in Austin but grew up in the border city of Laredo. "Bernie Sanders is also in mind."
Biden should benefit from the fact that African Americans – one of the voting blocs Biden does best with – are a much larger share of the population in Texas than in California.
Black people have been substantially more likely than Latinos to vote. And there are a slew of southern states voting Tuesday with significant African American populations.
Biden needs to do well enough in states like Virginia, Tennessee and North Carolina to stay in the game, said William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution.
“The real question,” he said, “is how Sanders’ success with the Latino vote ... will do against how well Biden will do with the black vote in much of the rest of the South.”
`He's a socialist and I'm not': Will moderates warm up to Bernie Sanders as Super Tuesday approaches?
A reversal from 2016
Sanders' support from Latinos is a reversal from 2016 when Hillary Clinton beat him in most states where Latinos made up at least 15% of the population. The exception was Colorado, which also votes March 3.
Sanders’ 2016 spokeswoman said at the time that Sanders, whose home state of Vermont has one of the smallest Hispanic populations in the nation, wasn’t yet as well known in the Hispanic community as Clinton was.
After that loss, Sanders worked to strengthen those ties.
“He’s been in these places since the last election,” said Stephen Nuño-Perez, director of communications and senior analyst for the polling firm Latino Decisions. “He didn’t pull up stakes after 2016.”
In fact, Sanders was explicit about making Latinos a cornerstone of his 2020 campaign.
“The one thing that we learned at the end of 2016 was that Latinos were drawn to Bernie Sanders' message,” senior adviser Chuck Rocha said. “So we wanted to start the campaign in the Latino neighborhood and build our campaign out from the Latino vote.”
Rather than having a specific Latino outreach director or Latino department, the campaign prioritized hiring Latinos at all levels.
Its five field offices in Texas include one in McAllen, near the U.S.-Mexico border, where the population is 85% Latino. One of the 22 field offices in California is in East Los Angeles, which is nearly 96% Latino.
The first ads the campaign ran in Iowa and Nevada were in Spanish. In some, Sanders touted the fact that he is a son of an immigrant.
The campaign has hosted organizing events specialized for Latinos, such as soccer tournaments, where elote was sold. At Sanders’ recent rally in San Antonio, a Tex-Mex punk band Piñata Protest was an opener for the event. The campaign has house parties geared towards Latinos, some called “Tamales for Tío Bernie.”
“I call him Tío Bernie,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the superstar Latina politician said when she gave Sanders a huge boost by endorsing him not long after his heart attack last fall raised questions about his campaign's viability.
Reaping the benefits
Sanders’ campaign had hoped his cultivation of Latinos would give him a strong start.
But while Sanders won big with Hispanic voters in Iowa, Buttigieg emerged with the delegate lead.
Sanders more than made up for that in Nevada, despite the criticism of his signature health care plan from the influential, and heavily Hispanic, Culinary Workers Union.
Union leaders warned that Medicare for All would end the generous health care plan they’d fought hard for. But many rank-and-file members saw Sanders’ universal health care plan as a way for everyone to get decent care.
Health care is a top issue for Latino voters, and they largely support Medicare for all. Among registered Latino voters in Texas, 51% are strongly in favor of Medicare for All, and 30% are somewhat in favor of the plan.
Medicare for All is a top reason Sanders has won the support of Danaury Lorenzo, a voter in Austin, Texas. The fact that Sanders' health plan includes helping senior citizens pay for long-term care especially "touches home for me."
Lorenzo, who is originally from New York City, said his grandmother recently struggled to get a home care provider through her insurance.
"I had to get on the phone every single day to fight with providers to get the care," he said.
While immigration issues are important to Hispanics, some polls show even more interest in bread-and-butter issues like health care, the economy and affordable housing, said Frey of the Brookings Institution.
“You listen to Sanders talk, it’s pretty clear what he’s for,” Frey said. “Those kinds of messages resonate.”
'He's there to help the poor'
Teresa Garcia, a 33-year-old resident of Coachella, Calif., who is job hunting, isn’t sure who she will vote for Tuesday. But she likes what she’s heard about Sanders so far.
“He’s there to help the poor,” Garcia said, as she worked through a list of possible jobs that she had scrawled in a notebook.
Sanders led in a recent California poll by the Public Policy Institute of California, getting 32% of support. Most of the other Democrats were clustered together in competition for a distant second.
Sanders was backed by about half the Hispanics surveyed and about half of younger California Democrats. The Hispanic population in general is younger and Sanders’ promises of free college education, free health care and his aggressive plan to tackle climate change may particularly resonate with younger voters.
“If these findings hold up, I think similar to Nevada, this is going to help him a great deal in California,” said Mark Baldassare, the institute’s president and CEO.
Other Democrats also have support
What Sanders doesn’t have in California, however, is endorsements from the state’s influential Latino Legislative Caucus or any of the Latino members of the congressional delegation.
“Latinos, especially in places like California, are now establishment members of the party infrastructure,” said Nuño-Perez of Latino Decisions. “Today, asking them to endorse someone like Bernie, who is a little bit outside of the mainstream for Democrats, is kind of a big ask.”
Joe Biden’s California backers include Reps. Tony Cardenas and Lucille Roybal-Allard.
State Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, the chair of the Latino Legislative Caucus, is backing Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Gonzalez said California Latinos want progressive leaders but “they also want to get things done.”
“For every issue that I care about, from immigration to income inequality, health care, she’s right on the policies – and she’s got an actual plan to make it happen,” Gonzalez said.
Texas is tighter than California
Sanders' big win in Nevada didn't help him much with African American voters in South Carolina and it's unclear if Biden's South Carolina blowout will help him with Hispanics in California and Texas, said Kondik of the University of Virginia Center for Politics.
"If Sanders dominates with Hispanic voters, and he wins the nomination," Kondik said, "it may mark a real changing of the guard moment in Democratic primary politics in which the Hispanic vote might be seen as important as the African American vote."
According to a Univision/University of Houston poll released Friday, Sanders was leading at 26% in Texas, with 31% of Latinos saying they backed the Vermont senator. Biden and Bloomberg were tied for second at 20%. But Bloomberg was slightly more popular with Latino voters than Biden, with the former New York City mayor garnering 23% with Latinos and Biden at 19%.
Lifelong San Antonio resident Noah Fuentes, 24, had already voted for Warren by the time he attended her rally last Thursday.
“Nothing that I’m gonna hear today, I don’t think, will un-sell me from that decision,” Noah Fuentes said.
He was a Julian Castro supporter before the former Housing and Urban Development secretary exited the race. When Castro endorsed Warren, Noah Fuentes said it felt natural to support Warren.
“I don’t want to see another old white guy in the White House again,” Noah Fuentes said. “I’m excited to see some form of diversity, whether it be a woman, a Latino, a person of color. Living as a minority, I think it brings a power to the office, and I think it brings a different perception.”
Mark Jones, chairman of the political science department at Rice University, doubts Sanders will get half the Latino vote in Texas as he did in Nevada. Warren, whose top surrogate is Castro, will likely peel off a decent share of the vote, as will Biden, Jones said.
“We feel very good with where we're at with the Latino community,” Isabel Aldunate, Biden campaign deputy director of strategic communications, told USA TODAY. “Of course, the Sanders campaign is doing well, as well. But we have a different edge with the Latino community. The community knows Joe, and he knows them.”
Contributing: Bart Jansen, USA TODAY, and Eleanor Dearman, El Paso Times.


usatoday--2020-03-03--Bernie Sanders won Minnesota's 2016 Democratic primary. He might win again with Amy Klobuchar's exit

Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar ended her campaign for president Monday , less than 24 hours before 14 states — including her own Minnesota — hold their primaries on Super Tuesday .
On Monday night in Dallas , Klobuchar endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden , urging fellow Democrats to vote for `` decency '' and `` dignity . ''
`` I think Sen. Klobuchar had a great run , '' said Larry Jacobs , political science professor and department head at the University of Minnesota .
He said Klobuchar had a small staff compared to `` monster '' -sized campaigns @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she did n't have much money behind her .
Going forward , Jacobs said he expects her to play more of a leadership role in the U.S. Senate .
After she finished sixth in Saturday 's South Carolina primary , Jacobs said he thinks `` it began to dawn on her that she had no chance . ''
Steven Schier , a professor of political science at Carleton College in Northfield , Minnesota , said that was likely a factor , and dropping out ahead of Super Tuesday puts her in the good @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
`` She 's generated a lot of goodwill across the Democratic Party by doing this at a critical moment , when a lot of established Democrats are unifying around Biden , '' Schier said .
Schier said Klobuchar is young compared to the field of remaining candidates and is leaving the race with friends on her side .
`` I think that Amy Klobuchar is tactically very shrewd and very ambitious , and by acting today , she produced a lot of opportunities for the future that she may not have had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and I think she knows that , '' Schier said .
But Jacobs said the door is now open for another candidate — already expected to show well in Minnesota after his performance in 2016 — to get the lion 's share of delegates .
Four years ago , Sanders won 61.6 % of the vote against Hillary Clinton the state 's caucuses .
`` Bernie Sanders is now going to do pretty well in Minnesota , '' Jacobs said , a sentiment echoed by Schier .
Voters who already turned in absentee @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The deadline to pull them back was a week ago , long before Klobuchar announced the end of her presidential campaign .
Though he did not specifically mention Klobuchar , Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon confirmed this in a tweet posted shortly after the announcement .
`` The votes are wasted , and I feel bad for those people , '' Jacobs said .
You could see her breath when Klobuchar announced her run for president amid falling snow in Minneapolis on Feb. 10 , 2019 .
Since then , her campaign @ @ @ @ @ @ @ endorsement from the New York Times with Elizabeth Warren .
Klobuchar also finished third in the New Hampshire primary .
But she finished fifth in the Iowa caucuses and sixth in South Carolina , and Klobuchar 's campaign canceled a rally Sunday night after Black Lives Matter protesters took over the stage in St. Louis Park .
Klobuchar is Minnesota 's first female senator and has served in the U.S. Senate since 2007 .
`` She built a coalition that brought people together and stood up for decency in our politics , '' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
`` Amy — you made Minnesota proud . ''

Bernie Sanders won Minnesota's 2016 Democratic primary. He might win again with Amy Klobuchar's exit from the race
Show Caption Hide Caption Amy Klobuchar ends presidential campaign ahead of Super Tuesday Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar has suspended her campaign for president a day before Super Tuesday primaries. USA TODAY, Wochit
Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar ended her campaign for president Monday, less than 24 hours before 14 states — including her own Minnesota — hold their primaries on Super Tuesday.
On Monday night in Dallas, Klobuchar endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden, urging fellow Democrats to vote for "decency" and "dignity."
"I think Sen. Klobuchar had a great run," said Larry Jacobs, political science professor and department head at the University of Minnesota.
He said Klobuchar had a small staff compared to "monster"-sized campaigns like that of Mike Bloomberg, and she didn't have much money behind her. Going forward, Jacobs said he expects her to play more of a leadership role in the U.S. Senate.
After she finished sixth in Saturday's South Carolina primary, Jacobs said he thinks "it began to dawn on her that she had no chance."
Steven Schier, a professor of political science at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, said that was likely a factor, and dropping out ahead of Super Tuesday puts her in the good graces of Biden and other established Democrats.
"She's generated a lot of goodwill across the Democratic Party by doing this at a critical moment, when a lot of established Democrats are unifying around Biden," Schier said.
Schier said Klobuchar is young compared to the field of remaining candidates and is leaving the race with friends on her side.
"I think that Amy Klobuchar is tactically very shrewd and very ambitious, and by acting today, she produced a lot of opportunities for the future that she may not have had by waiting a day or two, and I think she knows that," Schier said.
But Jacobs said the door is now open for another candidate — already expected to show well in Minnesota after his performance in 2016 — to get the lion's share of delegates. Four years ago, Sanders won 61.6% of the vote against Hillary Clinton the state's caucuses.
"Bernie Sanders is now going to do pretty well in Minnesota," Jacobs said, a sentiment echoed by Schier.
Proud of my friend @amyklobuchar and the strong campaign she ran. She built a coalition that brought people together and stood up for decency in our politics.
Amy — you made Minnesota proud. pic.twitter.com/qj9q0P5hLu — Tim Walz (@Tim_Walz) March 2, 2020
Voters who already turned in absentee ballots are stuck with their vote. The deadline to pull them back was a week ago, long before Klobuchar announced the end of her presidential campaign. Though he did not specifically mention Klobuchar, Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon confirmed this in a tweet posted shortly after the announcement.
"The votes are wasted, and I feel bad for those people," Jacobs said.
You could see her breath when Klobuchar announced her run for president amid falling snow in Minneapolis on Feb. 10, 2019.
Since then, her campaign hit some highs, including a split endorsement from the New York Times with Elizabeth Warren. Klobuchar also finished third in the New Hampshire primary.
But she finished fifth in the Iowa caucuses and sixth in South Carolina, and Klobuchar's campaign canceled a rally Sunday night after Black Lives Matter protesters took over the stage in St. Louis Park.
Klobuchar is Minnesota's first female senator and has served in the U.S. Senate since 2007.
"She built a coalition that brought people together and stood up for decency in our politics," Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz tweeted Monday. "Amy — you made Minnesota proud."
Follow Sarah Kocher on Twitter: @SarahAKocher.


usatoday--2020-03-03--Bernie Sanders pushes back against Democratic establishment as three former opponents rally to suppo

ST. PAUL , Minn. – Sen. Bernie Sanders railed against the political establishment at a rally here Monday night as his more moderate rivals worked to blunt his momentum by consolidating their support around Joe Biden on the eve of Super Tuesday voting .
“ As you all know — you can ’ t miss it if you turn on the TV — the establishment in this country , the economic establishment and the political establishment , are becoming very nervous , ” Sanders told the crowd .
“ They look at rallies like this and say … ‘ What @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Sanders took the stage at the Saint Paul RiverCentre as three of his former opponents — U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota , former South Bend , Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg and former U.S. Rep. Beto O ’ Rourke of Texas — gathered at a rally in Dallas to endorse the former vice president .
Super Tuesday live blog : Amy Klobuchar endorses Joe Biden : 'Vote for decency , vote for dignity , vote for a heart for our country' Together , the three endorsements represented a coalescence within the establishment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ members have grown increasingly anxious that Sanders ’ campaign would exploit their division and cruise to the nomination .
Sanders leads the delegate race after contests in the first four early-voting states .
And he ’ s consistently outperformed his competitors when it comes to fundraising , bringing in more than $ 46 million in February alone .
Still , Sanders opened his rally with an attempt at unity .
His supporters cheered the demise of both Klobuchar ’ s and Buttigieg ’ s campaigns .
But Sanders issued praise for both , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hardest workers that I know , ” and calling Buttigieg ’ s campaign both “ historic ” and “ brave.
” South Carolina primary : Biden dominates , Sanders slips to second and other takeaways “ Tonight , I want to open the door to Amy ’ s supporters , to Pete ’ s supporters , ” he said .
“ We all have our differences .
But I also know that virtually all of Amy ’ s supporters and Pete ’ s supporters understand that we have got to move toward a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ greed.
” Sanders also blunted the crowd ’ s burgeoning “ boos ” for Biden .
“ Joe is a decent guy , he ’ s just wrong on the issues , ” Sanders said , before walking through those issues at length .
He knocked Biden for taking campaign contributions from wealthy donors , voting for the Iraq War and voting for “ disastrous ” trade agreements .
A third of all available delegates are up for grabs on Super Tuesday , including 75 in Minnesota .
Though there ’ s been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a Star Tribune/MPR News Minnesota Poll from last week showed Sanders in a strong position – particularly after Klobuchar ended her campaign earlier Monday .
OnPolitics : Why does Super Tuesday matter ?
Thank you for asking That poll , which has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 % , showed Klobuchar leading Sanders by 6 percentage points – 29 % to 23 % .
Sen. Elizabeth Warren followed at 11 % and Biden was at 8 % .
According to the Associated Press , more than 57,000 Democratic ballots @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s early voting system .
Last Wednesday was the deadline for those voters to change their minds .
In previous years , the state has used a party-run caucus that in 2016 drew about 207,000 participants .

Brianne Pfannenstiel, Des Moines Register

Bernie Sanders pushes back against Democratic establishment as three former opponents rally to support Joe Biden
Show Caption Hide Caption What is Super Tuesday and why is it important? A previous version of this video displayed an incorrect date in a graphic. It was 1988 when 14 Southern and border states held their primaries. Just the FAQs, USA TODAY
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Sen. Bernie Sanders railed against the political establishment at a rally here Monday night as his more moderate rivals worked to blunt his momentum by consolidating their support around Joe Biden on the eve of Super Tuesday voting.
“As you all know — you can’t miss it if you turn on the TV — the establishment in this country, the economic establishment and the political establishment, are becoming very nervous,” Sanders told the crowd. “They look at rallies like this and say … ‘What’s going on here?’”
Sanders took the stage at the Saint Paul RiverCentre as three of his former opponents — U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg and former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke of Texas — gathered at a rally in Dallas to endorse the former vice president.
Super Tuesday live blog: Amy Klobuchar endorses Joe Biden: 'Vote for decency, vote for dignity, vote for a heart for our country'
Together, the three endorsements represented a coalescence within the establishment wing of the Democratic Party, whose members have grown increasingly anxious that Sanders’ campaign would exploit their division and cruise to the nomination.
Sanders leads the delegate race after contests in the first four states. And he’s consistently outperformed his competitors when it comes to fundraising, bringing in more than $46 million in February alone.
Still, Sanders opened his rally with an attempt at unity.
His supporters cheered the demise of both Klobuchar’s and Buttigieg’s campaigns. But Sanders issued praise for both, saying Klobuchar is “one of the hardest workers that I know,” and calling Buttigieg’s campaign both “historic” and “brave.”
South Carolina primary: Biden dominates, Sanders slips to second and other takeaways
“Tonight, I want to open the door to Amy’s supporters, to Pete’s supporters,” he said. “We all have our differences. But I also know that virtually all of Amy’s supporters and Pete’s supporters understand that we have got to move toward a government which believes in justice, not greed.”
Sanders also blunted the crowd’s burgeoning “boos” for Biden.
“Joe is a decent guy, he’s just wrong on the issues,” Sanders said, before walking through those issues at length.
He knocked Biden for taking campaign contributions from wealthy donors, voting for the Iraq War and voting for “disastrous” trade agreements.
A third of all available delegates are up for grabs on Super Tuesday, including 75 in Minnesota.
Though there’s been relatively little polling of the state, a Star Tribune/MPR News Minnesota Poll from last week showed Sanders in a strong position – particularly after Klobuchar ended her campaign earlier Monday.
OnPolitics: Why does Super Tuesday matter? Thank you for asking
That poll, which has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points, showed Klobuchar leading Sanders by 6 percentage points – 29% to 23%. Sen. Elizabeth Warren followed at 11% and Biden was at 8%.
According to the Associated Press, more than 57,000 Democratic ballots have already been cast through the state’s early voting system. Last Wednesday was the deadline for those voters to change their minds.
In previous years, the state has used a party-run caucus that in 2016 drew about 207,000 participants.


usatoday--2020-03-03--More than 13K turn out for Bernie Sanders rally in Elizabeth Warren's backyard

BOSTON – Four miles from the Cambridge home of Elizabeth Warren , more than 13,000 people turned out in freezing temperatures Saturday for an outdoor Bernie Sanders rally at Boston Common , three days before Massachusetts ’ 91 delegates are up for grabs on Super Tuesday .
With former Vice President Joe Biden the favorite to win Saturday 's South Carolina Democratic presidential primary , Sanders looked ahead to Super Tuesday , where he has an opportunity to build a significant overall delegate lead .
He was in Springfield , Massachusetts , Friday night and will be in Virginia on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on Sunday .
“ As some of you may know , the establishment is getting very nervous about our campaign , ” said Sanders , an independent U.S. senator from Vermont , taking the stage after musician Béla Fleck warmed up the crowd with the banjo .
“ And tonight , they ’ re going to turn on the TV and they ’ re going to find that 10,000 people came out to the Boston Common , and they ’ re going to become even more nervous.
” The Sanders campaign later said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : Pivotal South Carolina could reshape the Democratic race heading into Super Tuesday In Massachusetts , Sanders is going for a knockout punch against Warren , a U.S. senator from the state , and delegates that once seemed improbable given her home-state advantage .
But Sanders , the national Democratic frontrunner , has surged into first place in recent Massachusetts polls , topping Warren 25 % to 17 % in a survey released Friday by WBUR .
They were followed by Pete Buttigeig , 14 % ; Mike Bloomberg , 13 % ; @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a democratic socialist , did not mention Warren during his speech , railing instead on President Donald Trump , the “ 1 percent ” and billionaires in his usual populist pitch .
“ This is not just a campaign .
We are a movement , ” Sanders said .
“ Here we are a few days before the Massachusetts primary in the most consequential election in the modern history of America .
And we are assembled to tell Donald Trump he ’ s not going to destroy democracy in America .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of great learning with great universities , ” he added .
“ And I ’ ve got to tell you , I don ’ t have a Ph.D. in mathematics , but this I do know : 99 % is a hell of a lot bigger than 1 % .
” What to know about Super Tuesday : Why is it so important ?
What 's a delegate ?
And what happens at a brokered convention ?
Sanders ' rise has come at the expense of Warren , who is also running in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ several policy positions as Sanders .
The Warren campaign this week released a list of 147 Massachusetts elected officials – local , state and federal – supporting her campaign .
Backers include Sen. Ed Markey , U.S. Reps. Ayanna Pressley , Jim McGovern , Joe Kennedy III , Katherine Clark and Lori Trahan , as well as state Speaker Robert DeLeo , state Senate President Karen Spilka and Attorney General Maura Healey .
But Warren has not campaigned in Massachusetts in recent days .
She will be in Houston on Saturday night .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sanders in her home state of Massachusetts Among those in the Sanders crowd , Thomas Simpson , a 29-year-old nonprofit worker from Allston , Massachusetts , said he originally supported Warren but switched and voted for Sanders during the early-voting period after her struggles in Iowa , New Hampshire and Nevada .
“ Just the trends in the polls seemed to indicate that it ’ s a race between Bernie , Bloomberg and maybe Biden as well , ” Simpson said , describing himself as “ much more aligned with Bernie ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In general , I don ’ t necessarily gravitate toward Bernie ’ s outright advocacy of socialism , ” he said , applauding Warren ’ s support of progressive taxation .
“ I ’ m not as far left as Bernie ’ s politics , but I think that we definitely need to nominate somebody who ’ s going to offer a clear choice to Donald Trump and his policies.
” Simpson said Bloomberg would be a “ disaster ” and that he ’ s concerned with the possibility of a brokered convention @ @ @ @ @ @ @ doesn ’ t reach a majority of delegates .
“ I would hope the party and the superdelegates would do the right thing at that point and realize there ’ s a movement going on in the Democratic Party .
There ’ s a movement toward progressive positions , ” Simpson said . '
A plan to fight back ' : How Elizabeth Warren stumbled in New Hampshire and her plan for 'the long haul' Brian Willis , 56 , a union stage handle from Scituate , Massachusetts , said he voted for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2018 but is backing Sanders for president .
He proposed that Warren serve as Sanders ’ vice president if he ’ s elected .
“ I think they ’ d make a great team , but I ’ ve been a Bernie supporter for a while and I think that she has less electability , in my opinion , ” Willis said .
“ If Bernie wasn ’ t in the race , she ’ d be my top choice.
” Willis touted Sanders ’ “ years and years of fighting for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up for what was right .
And so has Elizabeth Warren , ” he said , but added : “ I believe the Democratic establishment stole his opportunity last cycle.
” Massachusetts state Rep. Mike Connolly , D-Cambridge , was among a handful of Democrats to speak before Sanders .
“ This Common has hosted revolutionaries from John Adams to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. , '' Connolly said .
`` So , it ’ s very fitting that we are in here today in support of Sen. Sanders , for Bernie is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ public good .
”

More than 13K turn out for Bernie Sanders rally in Elizabeth Warren's backyard
Show Caption Hide Caption Sanders confident as state primary looms US presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders held a campaign rally in Columbia, South Carolina on Friday. The Vermont Senator urged his supporters to unite and help in defeating President Donald Trump in November's presidential election. AP
BOSTON – Four miles from the Cambridge home of Elizabeth Warren, more than 13,000 people turned out in freezing temperatures Saturday for an outdoor Bernie Sanders rally at Boston Common, three days before Massachusetts’ 91 delegates are up for grabs on Super Tuesday.
With former Vice President Joe Biden the favorite to win Saturday's South Carolina Democratic presidential primary, Sanders looked ahead to Super Tuesday, where he has an opportunity to build a significant overall delegate lead. He was in Springfield, Massachusetts, Friday night and will be in Virginia on Saturday evening before heading to Los Angeles on Sunday.
“As some of you may know, the establishment is getting very nervous about our campaign,” said Sanders, an independent U.S. senator from Vermont, taking the stage after musician Béla Fleck warmed up the crowd with the banjo. “And tonight, they’re going to turn on the TV and they’re going to find that 10,000 people came out to the Boston Common, and they’re going to become even more nervous.”
The Sanders campaign later said 13,200 people attended.
South Carolina primary: Pivotal South Carolina could reshape the Democratic race heading into Super Tuesday
In Massachusetts, Sanders is going for a knockout punch against Warren, a U.S. senator from the state, and delegates that once seemed improbable given her home-state advantage. But Sanders, the national Democratic frontrunner, has surged into first place in recent Massachusetts polls, topping Warren 25% to 17% in a survey released Friday by WBUR. They were followed by Pete Buttigeig, 14%; Mike Bloomberg, 13%; and Biden, 9%.
Sanders, a democratic socialist, did not mention Warren during his speech, railing instead on President Donald Trump, the “1 percent” and billionaires in his usual populist pitch. “This is not just a campaign. We are a movement,” Sanders said.
“Here we are a few days before the Massachusetts primary in the most consequential election in the modern history of America. And we are assembled to tell Donald Trump he’s not going to destroy democracy in America.
“I know I am in a city of great learning with great universities,” he added. “And I’ve got to tell you, I don’t have a Ph.D. in mathematics, but this I do know: 99% is a hell of a lot bigger than 1%.”
What to know about Super Tuesday: Why is it so important? What's a delegate? And what happens at a brokered convention?
Sanders' rise has come at the expense of Warren, who is also running in the party's progressive lane and shares several policy positions as Sanders.
The Warren campaign this week released a list of 147 Massachusetts elected officials – local, state and federal – supporting her campaign. Backers include Sen. Ed Markey, U.S. Reps. Ayanna Pressley, Jim McGovern, Joe Kennedy III, Katherine Clark and Lori Trahan, as well as state Speaker Robert DeLeo, state Senate President Karen Spilka and Attorney General Maura Healey.
But Warren has not campaigned in Massachusetts in recent days. She will be in Houston on Saturday night.
POLL: Elizabeth Warren neck-and-neck with Bernie Sanders in her home state of Massachusetts
Among those in the Sanders crowd, Thomas Simpson, a 29-year-old nonprofit worker from Allston, Massachusetts, said he originally supported Warren but switched and voted for Sanders during the early-voting period after her struggles in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada.
What is Super Tuesday and why is it important? A previous version of this video displayed an incorrect date in a graphic. It was 1988 when 14 Southern and border states held their primaries. Just the FAQs, USA TODAY
“Just the trends in the polls seemed to indicate that it’s a race between Bernie, Bloomberg and maybe Biden as well,” Simpson said, describing himself as “much more aligned with Bernie’s policies” than the others.
“In general, I don’t necessarily gravitate toward Bernie’s outright advocacy of socialism,” he said, applauding Warren’s support of progressive taxation. “I’m not as far left as Bernie’s politics, but I think that we definitely need to nominate somebody who’s going to offer a clear choice to Donald Trump and his policies.”
Simpson said Bloomberg would be a “disaster” and that he’s concerned with the possibility of a brokered convention at the Democratic National Convention if Sanders doesn’t reach a majority of delegates.
“I would hope the party and the superdelegates would do the right thing at that point and realize there’s a movement going on in the Democratic Party. There’s a movement toward progressive positions,” Simpson said.
'A plan to fight back': How Elizabeth Warren stumbled in New Hampshire and her plan for 'the long haul'
Brian Willis, 56, a union stage handle from Scituate, Massachusetts, said he voted for Warren for Senate in both 2012 and 2018 but is backing Sanders for president. He proposed that Warren serve as Sanders’ vice president if he’s elected.
“I think they’d make a great team, but I’ve been a Bernie supporter for a while and I think that she has less electability, in my opinion,” Willis said. “If Bernie wasn’t in the race, she’d be my top choice.”
Willis touted Sanders’ “years and years of fighting for the underdog.”
“He’s stood up for what was right. And so has Elizabeth Warren,” he said, but added: “I believe the Democratic establishment stole his opportunity last cycle.”
Massachusetts state Rep. Mike Connolly, D-Cambridge, was among a handful of Democrats to speak before Sanders.
“This Common has hosted revolutionaries from John Adams to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.," Connolly said. "So, it’s very fitting that we are in here today in support of Sen. Sanders, for Bernie is a revolutionary and a true champion for public good.”
Reach Joey Garrison on Twitter @joeygarrison.


usatoday--2020-03-03--Supreme Court skeptical of granting new hearings to asylum seekers

WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court 's conservative majority appeared unlikely Monday to give asylum seekers claiming fear of persecution abroad a federal court hearing to avoid quick removal from the United States .
While the court 's conservatives and liberals seemed divided on the question , a turning point came near the end of the one-hour oral argument when Chief Justice John Roberts said the case could lead to a `` significant expansion '' of new claims .
`` Anybody can get to a point of entry , '' Roberts said , prompting the lawyer representing Sri Lanka native Vijayakumar @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seekers fit the same category .
Only 30 petitions for federal court hearings have been filed so far , American Civil Liberties Union attorney Lee Gelernt said .
But Justice Department Deputy Solicitor General Edwin Kneedler said the figure is closer to 100 and warned of `` the potential for a flood '' of cases if the Supreme Court rules for Thuraissigiam .
The case represents a crucial test of the Trump administration 's effort to speed the removal of thousands of migrants without granting federal court hearings .
The process is allowed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1996 .
The California-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit , which has drawn Trump 's ire for its decisions on immigration , ruled last year that efforts to remove asylum seekers under such `` expedited removal '' procedures violated their constitutional rights .
The Justice Department argues that extending the streamlined process could add years of court wrangling .
After losing the case , the administration in July expanded the expedited removal system to incorporate asylum seekers apprehended anywhere in the country who have not been continuously present in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is one of several challenging the Trump administration 's efforts to crack down on migrants seeking asylum after crossing the Mexican border .
Just last Friday , a federal appeals court blocked the administration ’ s policy of returning asylum seekers to Mexico to await court hearings , a practice immigrant rights advocates have denounced as inhumane and deadly .
Last September , the justices temporarily upheld a different policy denying asylum to those who do not seek protection first from a country they pass through , such as Mexico .
But in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a policy aimed at denying asylum to migrants crossing the border illegally rather than at designated crossings .
Trump 's three-year crackdown on immigration has led to a surge in lawsuits reaching the Supreme Court , where a rebuilt conservative majority increasingly is paying dividends for him .
In the past year , the justices also let the administration deter poor immigrants and redirect military funds to build a wall along the southern border .
Federal officials ' efforts to force cooperation from states and cities could be next .
The high court @ @ @ @ @ @ @ since its term began in October , including a challenge to Trump 's plan to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals ( DACA ) program that has helped nearly 700,000 undocumented immigrants work without fear of deportation .
The program was created by President Barack Obama in 2012 to help young , undocumented immigrants brought to the country as children .
During oral argument in November , the court 's conservative justices said the administration had ample policy reasons to end it .
A ruling is expected by June , in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In Monday 's case , Thuraissigiam was arrested 25 yards north of the Mexican border and immediately placed in expedited removal proceedings .
Immigration officials determined that he did not have a credible fear of persecution , even though he is a member of Sri Lanka 's Tamil ethnic minority that faces beatings and torture at the hands of the government .
Gelernt told the justices that such asylum seekers `` are removed too quickly .
They 're at the border ( and ) they ca n't find lawyers . ''
Associate Justice @ @ @ @ @ @ @ best kind of claim you can make '' for a new hearing , and her liberal colleagues seemed to agree .
But Associate Justice Samuel Alito said a ruling in his favor would be `` far-reaching . ''

Supreme Court skeptical of granting new hearings to asylum seekers
Show Caption Hide Caption Asylum claims at the border have risen, here's why Alan Gomez on the increase in asylum claims at the southern border and why Trump administration policies tightening restrictions are causing tension. USA TODAY
WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court's conservative majority appeared unlikely Monday to give asylum seekers claiming fear of persecution abroad a federal court hearing to avoid quick removal from the United States.
While the court's conservatives and liberals seemed divided on the question, a turning point came near the end of the one-hour oral argument when Chief Justice John Roberts said the case could lead to a "significant expansion" of new claims.
"Anybody can get to a point of entry," Roberts said, prompting the lawyer representing Sri Lanka native Vijayakumar Thuraissigiam to acknowledge that about 9,500 asylum seekers fit the same category.
Only 30 petitions for federal court hearings have been filed so far, American Civil Liberties Union attorney Lee Gelernt said. But Justice Department Deputy Solicitor General Edwin Kneedler said the figure is closer to 100 and warned of "the potential for a flood" of cases if the Supreme Court rules for Thuraissigiam.
More: President Trump's immigration crackdown inundates Supreme Court
The case represents a crucial test of the Trump administration's effort to speed the removal of thousands of migrants without granting federal court hearings. The process is allowed under a law passed by Congress in 1996.
The California-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, which has drawn Trump's ire for its decisions on immigration, ruled last year that efforts to remove asylum seekers under such "expedited removal" procedures violated their constitutional rights.
The Justice Department argues that extending the streamlined process could add years of court wrangling. After losing the case, the administration in July expanded the expedited removal system to incorporate asylum seekers apprehended anywhere in the country who have not been continuously present in the USA for two years.
The case is one of several challenging the Trump administration's efforts to crack down on migrants seeking asylum after crossing the Mexican border.
Just last Friday, a federal appeals court blocked the administration’s policy of returning asylum seekers to Mexico to await court hearings, a practice immigrant rights advocates have denounced as inhumane and deadly.
Last September, the justices temporarily upheld a different policy denying asylum to those who do not seek protection first from a country they pass through, such as Mexico.
But in 2018, the Supreme Court temporarily blocked a policy aimed at denying asylum to migrants crossing the border illegally rather than at designated crossings.
Trump's three-year crackdown on immigration has led to a surge in lawsuits reaching the Supreme Court, where a rebuilt conservative majority increasingly is paying dividends for him.
In the past year, the justices also let the administration deter poor immigrants and redirect military funds to build a wall along the southern border. Federal officials' efforts to force cooperation from states and cities could be next.
The high court has heard arguments in eight immigration cases since its term began in October, including a challenge to Trump's plan to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that has helped nearly 700,000 undocumented immigrants work without fear of deportation.
The program was created by President Barack Obama in 2012 to help young, undocumented immigrants brought to the country as children. During oral argument in November, the court's conservative justices said the administration had ample policy reasons to end it. A ruling is expected by June, in the midst of the presidential election campaign.
In Monday's case, Thuraissigiam was arrested 25 yards north of the Mexican border and immediately placed in expedited removal proceedings. Immigration officials determined that he did not have a credible fear of persecution, even though he is a member of Sri Lanka's Tamil ethnic minority that faces beatings and torture at the hands of the government.
Gelernt told the justices that such asylum seekers "are removed too quickly. They're at the border (and) they can't find lawyers."
Associate Justice Elena Kagan said Thuraissigiam had "the best kind of claim you can make" for a new hearing, and her liberal colleagues seemed to agree.
But Associate Justice Samuel Alito said a ruling in his favor would be "far-reaching."


usatoday--2020-03-04--A state-by-state breakdown of what to watch for on Super Tuesday, where 15 contests are up for grabs

WASHINGTON – About a third of the delegates needed to secure the Democratic presidential nomination are up for grabs in the voting bonanza known as Super Tuesday .
To put it in perspective , there were 155 pledged delegates available in the race 's first four contests , which were the obsession of the candidates , voters , pundits and political prognosticators for the month of February .
On Super Tuesday , 1,344 delegates are for the taking – as well as 13 delegates representing Americans abroad , who have a week to vote beginning Tuesday .
If a candidate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 3,979 delegates available in all the primary contests before the Democratic National Convention on July 13 , the nomination is theirs .
Those numbers help explain why billionaire media mogul Mike Bloomberg decided to skip Iowa , New Hampshire , Nevada and South Carolina to focus his half-billion-dollar advertising blitz on the March 3 states .
2020 updates , once a day : Get them distilled , explained and delivered straight to your inbox Five candidates are still in the hunt : former Vice President Joe Biden , Bloomberg , Rep. Tulsi Gabbard @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Vermont and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts .
Some of them may not be there after Tuesday 's voting .
Sanders leads in the delegate count after the first four contests , but Biden closed to within eight with his decisive win Saturday in South Carolina .
Will Sanders put the nomination out of reach after Tuesday 's voting , or will Biden have enough momentum out of the Palmetto State to keep the race competitive ?
What effect will Pete Buttigieg , Amy Klobuchar and Tom Steyer bowing out have on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ approach pay off ?
What to watch : Polls on the Alabama race have been few and far between , so it 's unclear how the primary race is shaping up .
The last survey , which was conducted in July , found Biden with an almost 20-percentage-point lead .
The race has shifted profoundly in the seven months since then .
Biden will be helped by his endorsement from the Alabama Democratic Conference – an influential African American political league .
One of the biggest questions will be how many of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after his bombardment of advertising .
On the Republican side , former Attorney General Jeff Sessions is fighting to win back his Senate seat in a battle with former college football coach Tommy Tuberville , Rep. Bradley Byrne and former judge Roy Moore .
If none of them secures a majority , there will be a runoff between the top two finishers March 31 .
Whoever locks up the nomination will take on Democratic incumbent Sen. Doug Jones , who will face an uphill battle for reelection in the deeply red state .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ lawmakers work behind the scenes to try to sway Trump on Jeff Sessions What to watch : One of the few polls on the race shows Bloomberg with a 1-point lead over Biden .
The Talk Business & Politics/Hendrix College poll was conducted Feb. 6-7 , before the former New York mayor 's lackluster debate performances in Las Vegas and Charleston , South Carolina .
Last month , Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott , the capital 's first popularly elected African American mayor , endorsed Bloomberg for president .
Early voting is underway @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
2020 candidates on the issues : A voter 's guide to where they stand on health care , gun control and more What to watch : Although it 's the mother lode of delegates , candidates in past primaries did not always give California the love its millions of Democratic voters felt they deserved , because it did not vote until early June , when the races were generally already decided .
So state Democrats moved up their primary to Super Tuesday , making the state critical to the candidates ' chances @ @ @ @ @ @ @ released Sunday found Sanders with the support of 35 % of likely Democratic primary voters , well ahead of Bloomberg at 16 % , Biden at 14 % and Warren at 12 % .
Turnout among Latino voters – who represent a third of the state 's eligible voters and only 15 % of whom register Republican – is likely to be high .
That is probably more good news for Sanders , who won more than half of Latino caucusgoers in neighboring Nevada on Feb. 22 , according to entrance polls .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ What 's a delegate ?
And what happens at a brokered convention ?
What to watch : A few facts make Colorado 's primary stand out : It conducts all-mail elections ; it 's one of the only Super Tuesday states with more unaffiliated voters than registered Republicans or Democrats ; and this will be its first primary since ditching the caucus format after the 2016 election .
Sanders , who won the state in 2016 , appears poised to win it again .
Two polls released last week found him with a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can predict that Bernie Sanders will likely do well , '' said Floyd Ciruli , a Denver-based pollster and analyst .
`` If he wins here , that will show that this state remains a state with a lot of voters who like to shake things up . ''
New nationwide study : Where Americans agree – and where Democrats differ headed into November What to watch : Like Colorado , Maine ditched the caucus system and , for the first time in two decades , will hold a primary instead .
There @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Democratic race in the state , where Sanders beat Hillary Clinton in 2016 by nearly 30 percentage points .
One of the few , a Colby College poll conducted Feb. 10-13 , found Sanders ahead at 25 % , followed by Bloomberg at 14 % and Biden at 12 % .
That same poll found Sara Gideon , the speaker of the Maine House of Representatives , leading the Democratic primary to challenge GOP incumbent Sen. Susan Collins in the fall .
Collins , who seeks a fifth term , faces the toughest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ moderately blue state after voting with President Donald Trump on controversial issues such as impeachment , the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and the tax cuts in 2017 .
Poll : Susan Collins surpasses Mitch McConnell as the most unpopular senator What to watch : Warren is in a fight to win her home state , according to a poll conducted by Suffolk University for the Boston Globe and WBZ-TV that found her with the support of 22 % of likely Democratic primary voters , trailing Sanders at 24 % .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ % ) , Biden ( 11 % ) and Gabbard ( 4 % ) . '
I 'm staying in this race ' : Warren ready to take fight to convention – even if she 's losing What to watch : Sanders won the state in 2016 with 62 % of the vote .
This year , he has the endorsement of Rep. Ilhan Omar and the liberal group TakeAction Minnesota .
Minnesota Sen. Klobuchar 's departure could pave the way for Sanders to walk away with the state 's delegates , unless @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to cast their ballots for Biden , whom she endorsed .
'Defied expectations ' : Klobuchar 's New Hampshire surprise aided battle for money and attention What to watch : Trump – who is crushing his lone primary opponent , former Massachusetts Gov .
Bill Weld – will hold a rally in Charlotte the night before the primary .
Republican Sen. Thom Tillis , will be on the ballot in November , and Democratic primary voters will determine Tuesday who will take him on .
The leading candidates to face Tillis are ex-state @ @ @ @ @ @ @ veteran who ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate 10 years ago , and state Sen. Erica Smith .
Cunningham has the backing of the national party over Smith , who is more liberal .
In the Democratic presidential race , polls show a tight race with Sanders , Biden and Bloomberg at the top .
'He 's a socialist and I 'm not ' : Will moderates warm up to Bernie Sanders as Super Tuesday approaches ?
What to watch : Sanders has written legislation that would ban hydraulic fracturing , better known as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of revenue to Oklahoma but has been blamed for earthquakes and water pollution .
Warren , an Oklahoma native , backs such a ban , as does Gabbard .
Bloomberg held a narrow lead in one poll last month , and Biden held a small lead in the other .
Both found Sanders close behind in second place .
Polls close : 8 p.m. EST ( Due to deadly tornadoes , some polls around Nashville will remain open until 10 p.m EST ) What to watch : Overall , Democrats are more moderate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the country .
Clinton defeated Sanders by 2-to-1 in the state 's 2016 primary .
This year , the more moderate candidates put a greater emphasis on Tennessee , while the Sanders campaign dedicated relatively little time or resources in the state .
John Geer , political science professor at Vanderbilt University and director of the Vanderbilt Poll , said Sanders could eke out a victory if moderates ' votes are split .
'It is so irresponsible ' : Bloomberg criticizes Gov .
Bill Lee 's proposed gun carry law during Memphis stop @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a reliably Republican state and historically neglected by Democratic presidential candidates – suddenly finds itself in unfamiliar territory : a courted state in the middle of a heated Democratic presidential primary season .
The Lone Star State is a major prize , boasting the third-largest delegate count of the entire primary season , behind California and New York .
Biden led in most polls on the Texas race through January ( though by margins ranging from 1 to 20 percentage points ) , but four polls released this week all found Sanders ahead @ @ @ @ @ @ @ What to watch : Like California , Utah is a new addition to the Super Tuesday slate after moving up its primary .
It is another state that ditched the caucus format for the presidential primaries after 2016 – although caucuses will still be held this year for other races .
Unaffiliated voters make up more than 20,000 of the 87,224 registered voters in the state , and they are able to vote in the Democratic primary .
Sanders received nearly 80 % of the vote in the 2016 caucuses .
A Deseret @ @ @ @ @ @ @ found him leading as the choice of 28 % of Utah 's Democratic voters , ahead of Bloomberg ( 19 % ) , Warren ( 15 % ) and Biden ( 6 % ) .
Election 2020 : When are the presidential election primaries in each state ?
What to watch : Sanders ' home state is probably an easy pickup for the three-term senator ( who was elected as the state 's congressman eight times ) .
In 2016 , Sanders beat Clinton in Vermont with 86 % of the vote .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ a Republican stronghold , has shifted blue in recent elections .
Its Democratic voters tend to lean more moderate , giving Clinton a nearly 30-point win over Sanders in 2016 .
Polling indicates moderates could split their votes between Biden and Bloomberg , who has put his ample resources to work in the state , opening more than a half-dozen offices .
What to watch : Clinton won the U.S. territory in 2016 with nearly 73 % of the vote to Sanders ' 27 % .
The polling site FiveThirtyEight gives Biden and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the caucuses .
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’ Contributing : Susan Page , Rick Jervis , Gabrielle Canon , Joey Garrison , Marco della Cava and Nicholas Wu , USA TODAY ; Jacy Marmaduke , The Coloradoan ; Nora Hertel , St .
Cloud ( Minn. ) Times ; Lexi Peery , The Spectrum ( St. George , Utah ) ; Chris Casteel , The Oklahoman ; Natalie Allison , The Tennessean ; The Associated Press

A state-by-state look at Super Tuesday, where 15 contests are up for grabs
Show Caption Hide Caption Super Tuesday vote: Who's in, who's out, and how did we get here? Super Tuesday: who's in, who's out, and how did the field get narrowed to the candidates still in? Matthew Sobocinski, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON – About a third of the delegates needed to secure the Democratic presidential nomination are up for grabs in the voting bonanza known as Super Tuesday.
To put it in perspective, there were 155 pledged delegates available in the race's first four contests, which were the obsession of the candidates, voters, pundits and political prognosticators for the month of February. On Super Tuesday, 1,344 delegates are for the taking – as well as 13 delegates representing Americans abroad, who have a week to vote beginning Tuesday.
If a candidate can secure 1,991 or more of the 3,979 delegates available in all the primary contests before the Democratic National Convention on July 13, the nomination is theirs.
The latest: Live Super Tuesday primary election results from 14 state primaries
Those numbers help explain why billionaire media mogul Mike Bloomberg decided to skip Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina to focus his half-billion-dollar advertising blitz on the March 3 states. He scored his first delegates of the campaign season in American Samoa, according to projections.
Five candidates are still in the hunt: former Vice President Joe Biden, Bloomberg, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. Some of them may not be there after Tuesday's voting.
Going into the night, Sanders led in the delegate count after the first four contests, but Biden closed to within eight with his decisive win Saturday in South Carolina. Will Sanders put the nomination out of reach after Tuesday's voting, or will Biden have enough momentum out of the Palmetto State to keep the race competitive? What effect will Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar and Tom Steyer bowing out have on the race? How will Bloomberg's unorthodox approach pay off?
2020 updates, once a day: Get them distilled, explained and straight to your inbox
What is Super Tuesday and why is it important? A previous version of this video displayed an incorrect date in a graphic. It was 1988 when 14 Southern and border states held their primaries. Just the FAQs, USA TODAY
Alabama – Biden wins
Delegates up for grabs: 52
Polls close: 8 p.m. EST
Alabama primary results: Follow live results here
What to watch: Polls on the Alabama race have been few and far between, so it's unclear how the primary race is shaping up. The last survey, which was conducted in July, found Biden with an almost 20-percentage-point lead. The race has shifted profoundly in the seven months since then.
As soon as the polls closed, the Associated Press projected that he had won the state.
Biden will be helped by his endorsement from the Alabama Democratic Conference – an influential African American political league. One of the biggest questions will be how many of the state's voters are drawn to Bloomberg after his bombardment of advertising.
On the Republican side, former Attorney General Jeff Sessions is fighting to win back his Senate seat in a battle with former college football coach Tommy Tuberville, Rep. Bradley Byrne and former judge Roy Moore. If none of them secures a majority, there will be a runoff between the top two finishers March 31. Whoever locks up the nomination will take on Democratic incumbent Sen. Doug Jones, who will face an uphill battle for reelection in the deeply red state.
Ala. GOP Senate race: Aides, lawmakers work behind the scenes to try to sway Trump on Jeff Sessions
Arkansas
Delegates up for grabs: 31
Polls close: 8:30 p.m. EST
Arkansas primary results: Follow live results here
What to watch: One of the few polls on the race shows Bloomberg with a 1-point lead over Biden. The Talk Business & Politics/Hendrix College poll was conducted Feb. 6-7, before the former New York mayor's lackluster debate performances in Las Vegas and Charleston, South Carolina.
Last month, Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott, the capital's first popularly elected African American mayor, endorsed Bloomberg for president.
Early voting is underway in the state and continued through Monday.
2020 candidates on the issues: A voter's guide to where they stand on health care, gun control and more
California
Delegates up for grabs: 415
Polls close: 11 p.m. EST
California primary results: Follow live results here
What to watch: Although it's the mother lode of delegates, candidates in past primaries did not always give California the love its millions of Democratic voters felt they deserved, because it did not vote until early June, when the races were generally already decided.
So state Democrats moved up their primary to Super Tuesday, making the state critical to the candidates' chances.
A Suffolk University/USA TODAY statewide poll released Sunday found Sanders with the support of 35% of likely Democratic primary voters, well ahead of Bloomberg at 16%, Biden at 14% and Warren at 12%.
Turnout among Latino voters – who represent a third of the state's eligible voters and only 15% of whom register Republican – is likely to be high. That is probably more good news for Sanders, who won more than half of Latino caucusgoers in neighboring Nevada on Feb. 22, according to entrance polls.
Why is Super Tuesday so important? What's a delegate? And what happens at a brokered convention?
Colorado
Delegates up for grabs: 67
Polls close: 9 p.m. EST
Colorado primary results: Follow live results here
What to watch: A few facts make Colorado's primary stand out: It conducts all-mail elections; it's one of the only Super Tuesday states with more unaffiliated voters than registered Republicans or Democrats; and this will be its first primary since ditching the caucus format after the 2016 election.
Sanders, who won the state in 2016, appears poised to win it again. Two polls released last week found him with a double-digit lead.
"I think you can predict that Bernie Sanders will likely do well," said Floyd Ciruli, a Denver-based pollster and analyst. "If he wins here, that will show that this state remains a state with a lot of voters who like to shake things up."
New nationwide study: Where Americans agree – and where Democrats differ headed into November
Maine
Delegates up for grabs: 24
Polls close: 8 p.m. EST
Maine primary results: Follow live results here
What to watch: Like Colorado, Maine ditched the caucus system and, for the first time in two decades, will hold a primary instead.
There hasn't been much polling on the Democratic race in the state, where Sanders beat Hillary Clinton in 2016 by nearly 30 percentage points. One of the few, a Colby College poll conducted Feb. 10-13, found Sanders ahead at 25%, followed by Bloomberg at 14% and Biden at 12%.
That same poll found Sara Gideon, the speaker of the Maine House of Representatives, leading the Democratic primary to challenge GOP incumbent Sen. Susan Collins in the fall.
Collins, who seeks a fifth term, faces the toughest race of her Senate career in the moderately blue state after voting with President Donald Trump on controversial issues such as impeachment, the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and the tax cuts in 2017.
Poll: Susan Collins surpasses Mitch McConnell as the most unpopular senator
Massachusetts
Delegates up for grabs: 91
Polls close: 8 p.m. EST
Massachusetts primary results: Follow live results here
What to watch: Warren is in a fight to win her home state, according to a poll conducted by Suffolk University for the Boston Globe and WBZ-TV that found her with the support of 22% of likely Democratic primary voters, trailing Sanders at 24%.
They were followed by Bloomberg (13%), Biden (11%) and Gabbard (4%).
'I'm staying in this race': Warren ready to take fight to convention – even if she's losing
Minnesota
Delegates up for grabs: 75
Polls close: 9 p.m. EST
Minnesota primary results: Follow live results here
What to watch: Sanders won the state in 2016 with 62% of the vote. This year, he has the endorsement of Rep. Ilhan Omar and the liberal group TakeAction Minnesota.
Minnesota Sen. Klobuchar's departure could pave the way for Sanders to walk away with the state's delegates, unless Klobuchar persuades the bulk of her supporters to cast their ballots for Biden, whom she endorsed.
'Defied expectations': Klobuchar's New Hampshire surprise aided battle for money and attention
North Carolina – Biden wins
Delegates up for grabs: 110
Polls close: 7:30 p.m. EST
North Carolina primary results: Follow live results here
What to watch: Trump – who is crushing his lone primary opponent, former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld – will hold a rally in Charlotte the night before the primary.
As soon as the polls closed, the Associated Press projected, based on exit polling data, that Biden had won.
Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, will be on the ballot in November, and Democratic primary voters will determine Tuesday who will take him on.
The leading candidates to face Tillis are ex-state legislator Cal Cunningham, an Iraq War veteran who ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate 10 years ago, and state Sen. Erica Smith. Cunningham has the backing of the national party over Smith, who is more liberal.
In the Democratic presidential race, polls show a tight race with Sanders, Biden and Bloomberg at the top.
'He's a socialist and I'm not': Will moderates warm up to Bernie Sanders as Super Tuesday approaches?
Oklahoma
Delegates up for grabs: 37
Polls close: 8 p.m. EST
Oklahoma primary results: Follow live results here
What to watch: Sanders has written legislation that would ban hydraulic fracturing, better known as fracking, which has brought a lot of revenue to Oklahoma but has been blamed for earthquakes and water pollution. Warren, an Oklahoma native, backs such a ban, as does Gabbard.
Bloomberg held a narrow lead in one poll last month, and Biden held a small lead in the other. Both found Sanders close behind in second place.
Money primary: Sanders holds Democratic fundraising lead in Oklahoma
Tennessee
Delegates up for grabs: 64
Polls close: 8 p.m. EST (Due to deadly tornadoes, some polls around Nashville will remain open until 10 p.m EST)
Tennessee primary results: Follow live results here
What to watch: Overall, Democrats are more moderate than their counterparts in other parts of the country. Clinton defeated Sanders by 2-to-1 in the state's 2016 primary. This year, the more moderate candidates put a greater emphasis on Tennessee, while the Sanders campaign dedicated relatively little time or resources in the state.
John Geer, political science professor at Vanderbilt University and director of the Vanderbilt Poll, said Sanders could eke out a victory if moderates' votes are split.
'It is so irresponsible': Bloomberg criticizes Gov. Bill Lee's proposed gun carry law during Memphis stop
Texas
Delegates up for grabs: 228
Polls close: 8 p.m. EST
Texas primary results: Follow live results here
What to watch: Texas – long a reliably Republican state and historically neglected by Democratic presidential candidates – suddenly finds itself in unfamiliar territory: a courted state in the middle of a heated Democratic presidential primary season.
The Lone Star State is a major prize, boasting the third-largest delegate count of the entire primary season, behind California and New York.
Biden led in most polls on the Texas race through January (though by margins ranging from 1 to 20 percentage points), but four polls released this week all found Sanders ahead by 4 to 15 percentage points.
Poll: Bernie Sanders leads Democratic primary candidates with Texas Latino voters
Utah
Delegates up for grabs: 29
Polls close: 10 p.m. EST
Utah primary results: Follow live results here
What to watch: Like California, Utah is a new addition to the Super Tuesday slate after moving up its primary. It is another state that ditched the caucus format for the presidential primaries after 2016 – although caucuses will still be held this year for other races.
Unaffiliated voters make up more than 20,000 of the 87,224 registered voters in the state, and they are able to vote in the Democratic primary.
Sanders received nearly 80% of the vote in the 2016 caucuses. A Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics poll released Thursday found him leading as the choice of 28% of Utah's Democratic voters, ahead of Bloomberg (19%), Warren (15%) and Biden (6%).
Election 2020: When are the presidential election primaries in each state?
Vermont – Sanders wins
Delegates up for grabs: 16
Polls close: 7 p.m. EST
Vermont primary results: Follow live results here
What to watch: Sanders' home state is probably an easy pickup for the three-term senator (who was elected as the state's congressman eight times).
In 2016, Sanders beat Clinton in Vermont with 86% of the vote.
As soon as the polls closed, Sanders was projected the winner.
Republican primary: Vermont's Republican governor endorses Bill Weld, not Trump
Virginia - Biden wins
Delegates up for grabs: 99
Polls close: 7 p.m. EST
Virginia primary results: Follow live results here
What to watch: Virginia, once a Republican stronghold, has shifted blue in recent elections. Its Democratic voters tend to lean more moderate, giving Clinton a nearly 30-point win over Sanders in 2016.
As soon as the polls closed, the AP projected that Biden had won.
Polling indicates moderates could split their votes between Biden and Bloomberg, who has put his ample resources to work in the state, opening more than a half-dozen offices.
Huge staff, ad blitzes, free T-shirts:How billionaire Michael Bloomberg campaigns for the White House
American Samoa Democratic caucuses – Bloomberg wins
Delegates up for grabs: 6
Polls close: 8 p.m. EST
American Samoa caucuses results: Follow live results here
What to watch: Clinton won the U.S. territory in 2016 with nearly 73% of the vote to Sanders' 27%.
The polling site FiveThirtyEight gives Biden and Sanders roughly the same chances of winning the caucuses.
Want to talk more about politics?: Join our Facebook group: ‘Across the Aisle, Across the Nation.’
Contributing: Susan Page, Rick Jervis, Gabrielle Canon, Joey Garrison, Marco della Cava and Nicholas Wu, USA TODAY; Jacy Marmaduke, The Coloradoan; Nora Hertel, St. Cloud (Minn.) Times; Lexi Peery, The Spectrum (St. George, Utah); Chris Casteel, The Oklahoman; Natalie Allison, The Tennessean; The Associated Press


usatoday--2020-03-03--Trump said he had 'very good talk' with Taliban leader amid criticism of Afghanistan peace deal

WASHINGTON – Trying to hold together a U.S.-Taliban peace deal , President Donald Trump said Tuesday he had a `` very good talk '' with the leader of that militant Islamic group , despite renewed threats of violence in Afghanistan .
`` The relationship is very good that I have with the mullah , '' Trump told reporters Tuesday during a briefing on coronavirus at the National Institutes of Health .
`` We had a good , long conversation today , and you know , they want to cease the violence . ''
The Taliban disclosed Trump 's phone call @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ghani Barader , before the White House did .
A Taliban readout claimed Trump told the mullah that `` it is a pleasure to talk to you .
You are a tough people and have a great country and I understand that you are fighting for your homeland . ''
Trump bemoaned the `` trillions of dollars '' the U.S. has spent in Afghanistan and said American troops are just serving as a `` police force '' there .
The unusual conversation came three days after U.S. and Taliban negotiators signed a historic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ war in Afghanistan and allow Trump to begin the promised withdrawal of American troops .
More : Historic peace deal in Afghanistan reached with Taliban , allowing withdrawal of US troops The four-page pact spells out a timetable for the United States to withdraw its 13,000 troops from Afghanistan .
In exchange , the Taliban agreed to sever its ties with al-Qaida , the terrorist group that launched the 9/11 attacks against the U.S .
But some of Trump 's staunchest Republican allies have criticized the agreement , saying the pact is flawed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ During a House hearing Tuesday , Rep. Liz Cheney , R-Wyo.
, said the Trump administration had made dangerous concessions to the Taliban – including a promise to secure the release of as many as 5,000 Taliban fighters and giving a timeline for the complete withdrawal of all U.S. forces from Afghanistan .
Cheney also suggested that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had mislead lawmakers and the public about the agreement ’ s secret annexes .
Pompeo and other Trump administration officials have said the classified provisions of the pact spell out verification @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can determine if the Taliban is keeping its promises to renounce al-Qaida and sever its ties with that terrorist organization .
“ ( Pompeo ) made assertions , including that there were complex , interlocking verification mechanisms , ” Cheney said during a House Armed Services Committee hearing with two top Pentagon officials .
“ He asserted there would be a full and compete renunciation of al-Qaida by the Taliban . ''
“ The documents that have been sent to the Hill do not include those things , ” she said.
“ We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have a number of secret documents ” that should be made public , she said .
Cheney said Taliban leaders have seen the documents , so there 's no reason they should remain classified .
“ I believe the American people deserve to know what agreement has been entered into in our name with the terrorists who harbored those who killed 3,000 Americans on 9/11 , ” she said .
The State Department did not respond to a request for comment .
Trump ’ s phone call with the Taliban official also came @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a U.S.-brokered pact aimed at ending such attacks .
The Afghan government said the Taliban had carried out 33 terrorist attacks in the country , killing civilians and prompting a counter-attack from Afghan defense forces .
“ In the past 24 hours , the Taliban have carried out 33 terrorist attacks on 16 civilians in the country 's 16 provinces and the security and defense forces have unfortunately killed 6 civilians and wounded 14 others , ” Nasrat Rahimi , a government spokesman , wrote in a Twitter post on Tuesday .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ otherwise the security forces will act and suppress them in order to defend themselves and the people.
” Critics fear the deal could unravel if the Taliban and the U.S.-backed Afghan government are unable to agree on a power-sharing deal and a permanent ceasefire .
The two sides are already disputing the terms of a U.S.-endorsed prisoner exchange .

David Jackson and Deirdre Shesgreen, USA TODAY

Trump said he had 'very good talk' with Taliban leader amid criticism of Afghanistan peace deal
Show Caption Hide Caption Trump says he will meet Taliban leaders US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he thought Afghan peace talks would "be successful in the end" and that he would meet Taliban leaders. (Feb. 29) AP
WASHINGTON – Trying to hold together a U.S.-Taliban peace deal, President Donald Trump said Tuesday he had a "very good talk" with the leader of that militant Islamic group, despite renewed threats of violence in Afghanistan.
"The relationship is very good that I have with the mullah," Trump told reporters Tuesday during a briefing on coronavirus at the National Institutes of Health. "We had a good, long conversation today, and you know, they want to cease the violence."
The Taliban disclosed Trump's phone call with its political leader, Mullah Abdul Ghani Barader, before the White House did.
A Taliban readout claimed Trump told the mullah that "it is a pleasure to talk to you. You are a tough people and have a great country and I understand that you are fighting for your homeland."
Trump bemoaned the "trillions of dollars" the U.S. has spent in Afghanistan and said American troops are just serving as a "police force" there.
The unusual conversation came three days after U.S. and Taliban negotiators signed a historic agreement that could end 19 years of war in Afghanistan and allow Trump to begin the promised withdrawal of American troops.
More: Historic peace deal in Afghanistan reached with Taliban, allowing withdrawal of US troops
The four-page pact spells out a timetable for the United States to withdraw its 13,000 troops from Afghanistan. In exchange, the Taliban agreed to sever its ties with al-Qaida, the terrorist group that launched the 9/11 attacks against the U.S.
But some of Trump's staunchest Republican allies have criticized the agreement, saying the pact is flawed and could jeopardize U.S. national security.
During a House hearing Tuesday, Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., said the Trump administration had made dangerous concessions to the Taliban – including a promise to secure the release of as many as 5,000 Taliban fighters and giving a timeline for the complete withdrawal of all U.S. forces from Afghanistan.
Cheney also suggested that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had mislead lawmakers and the public about the agreement’s secret annexes. Pompeo and other Trump administration officials have said the classified provisions of the pact spell out verification and implementation measures, so the U.S. can determine if the Taliban is keeping its promises to renounce al-Qaida and sever its ties with that terrorist organization.
Super Tuesday latest: Coronavirus fears caused staffing issues at Super Tuesday polling sites in Texas
“(Pompeo) made assertions, including that there were complex, interlocking verification mechanisms,” Cheney said during a House Armed Services Committee hearing with two top Pentagon officials. “He asserted there would be a full and compete renunciation of al-Qaida by the Taliban."
“The documents that have been sent to the Hill do not include those things,” she said.“We have no verification agreement, and we have a number of secret documents” that should be made public, she said.
Cheney said Taliban leaders have seen the documents, so there's no reason they should remain classified.
“I believe the American people deserve to know what agreement has been entered into in our name with the terrorists who harbored those who killed 3,000 Americans on 9/11,” she said.
The State Department did not respond to a request for comment.
Trump’s phone call with the Taliban official also came amid renewed fighting in Afghanistan, despite a U.S.-brokered pact aimed at ending such attacks.
The Afghan government said the Taliban had carried out 33 terrorist attacks in the country, killing civilians and prompting a counter-attack from Afghan defense forces.
“In the past 24 hours, the Taliban have carried out 33 terrorist attacks on 16 civilians in the country's 16 provinces and the security and defense forces have unfortunately killed 6 civilians and wounded 14 others,” Nasrat Rahimi, a government spokesman, wrote in a Twitter post on Tuesday. “The Taliban must stop killing civilians, otherwise the security forces will act and suppress them in order to defend themselves and the people.”
Critics fear the deal could unravel if the Taliban and the U.S.-backed Afghan government are unable to agree on a power-sharing deal and a permanent ceasefire. The two sides are already disputing the terms of a U.S.-endorsed prisoner exchange.


usatoday--2020-03-03--Super Tuesday vote: Who's in, who's out, and how did we get here?

Super Tuesday vote : Who 's in , who 's out , and how did we get here ?
Super @ @ @ @ @ , who 's out , and how did the field get narrowed to the candidates @ @ @

Super Tuesday vote: Who's in, who's out, and how did we get here?
Super Tuesday: who's in, who's out, and how did the field get narrowed to the candidates still in?
Matthew Sobocinski, USA TODAY