Former President Bill Clinton was in Connecticut on Tuesday. He appeared at a fundraiser for his wife, Democratic Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton in Bridgeport’s Black Rock neighborhood. Connecticut is one of Bill Clinton’s first stops as he supports his wife on the campaign trail.
The dinner at a waterfront mansion in Black Rock cost guests about $2,700 a plate. Quinnipiac political science professor Scott McLean said Bill Clinton didn’t come to Connecticut to appeal to primary voters. Iowa and New Hampshire hold primaries next month, but Connecticut’s primary is in April.
“It’s mainly a fundraising trip," he said. "Connecticut is the ATM that you hit just before you get to New Hampshire on the way up there. A convenient place to stop off, maybe do a few fundraisers on the way up to do face-to-face ground work with voters in New Hampshire.”
On the same day, a few miles away, supporters of Clinton’s main Democratic rival, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, rallied at a skate park in downtown Bridgeport. Ashli Giles-Perkins is a volunteer for an independent group of Sanders supporters in Bridgeport. She said the two events reflect a big difference in the appeals of Sanders and Clinton. Most of Sanders’ campaign funds have come from small donations.
“It’s in a big mansion. We’re at a skate park, right next to the highway. We’re not charging you $2700 to be here; it’s free," she said. "That’s the big difference. Bernie’s really against big money and super PACs.”
A Quinnipiac poll showed Sanders with a five-point lead in Iowa. That's just outside the poll’s 4.4 percent margin of error. McLean said if Sanders pulls off a win in either Iowa or New Hampshire next month, the race could go all the way to the Democratic National Convention in July.
