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Connecticut in Spotlight as Presidential Race "Comes Down to the Wire for Both Parties"

Erik (HASH) Hersman
/
Creative Commons

Presidential candidates court Connecticut voters this weekend ahead of Tuesday's presidential primary. 

Ohio Governor John Kasich meets Friday night with supporters in Glastonbury, while Donald Trump plans to hold rallies in Bridgeport and Waterbury on Saturday.

On the Democratic side, Senator Bernie Sanders plans an appearance in New Haven on Sunday.

Hillary Clinton visited Hartford on Thursday. She also plans to campaign Saturday in New Haven and will hold a public event on Sunday in Bridgeport.

Typically, Connecticut isn't a factor in presidential primaries, with candidates only visiting the state for fundraising events -- but this year is different.

"This year, it's coming down to the wire for both parties," said Nick Balletto, the Connecticut Democratic Party Chair. "We've just become a major factor, especially coming right after New York. Everyone has just turned to us to see where this is going to go, and has paid a lot of attention."

The latest Quinnipiac University poll had Clinton with a nine-point lead over Sanders in the state, but Balletto said anything can happen on Election Day.

"So we certainly don't want people to take this for granted, and should go out there and vote for their candidate," Balletto said. "I don't think polls, necessarily -- as we've seen in the past -- can predict exactly what's going to happen. We've seen polls get completely turned upside down."

Listen below to Balletto's insights on the coming primary:

Clinton and Sanders are hoping to capture the lion's share of Connecticut's 55 pledged delegates. Connecticut's 16 super delegates have already committed to Hillary Clinton.

Ray Hardman is Connecticut Public’s Arts and Culture Reporter. He is the host of CPTV’s Emmy-nominated original series Where Art Thou? Listeners to Connecticut Public Radio may know Ray as the local voice of Morning Edition, and later of All Things Considered.

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