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Bernie Sanders holds a rally at Santa Fe Community College.(Photo: Connie Lee/Current-Argus)
SANTA FE, N.M. — As presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders stepped up the to podium at Santa Fe Community College, the audience gave the Vermont senator some New Mexican flavor for his first stop in the state as they added Si, se puede, “Yes you can,” to their chants of support.
Sanders, who is seeking the Democratic nomination, is the first of the three major party presidential candidates to campaign in New Mexico prior to the primary election on June 7.
Republican Donald Trump is scheduled to make his first appearance in the state Tuesday in Albuquerque, the same time that former President Bill Clinton is scheduled begin campaigning for his wife, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.
Sanders gave a nod to the range of ages in the audience Friday, commending those in the audience for their participation in the election.
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"In every primary and in virtually every caucus we have by large numbers young people's votes," he said. "And by young people I mean people not just 20, 25, but people 45 years of age and younger."
The event drew almost 3,000 people, but some in the audience said they were unsure of whether Sanders had a shot at winning the Democratic nomination.
"He probably won't be on the ballot, but we have political revolution," said Rainy Upton, a Santa Fe resident.
The New York Times reports that Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state, has 1,768 delegates and 525 superdelegates while Sanders held 1,494 delegates and 39 superdelegates.
Sanders reassured his supporters that, despite the doubts, he was still in the running.
An attendee of the Santa Fe rally for Bernie Sanders holds up a sign.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: Connie Lee/Current-Argus)
"No one can predict the future," he said. "But I think on June 7, when six states are up, we are going to win a lot more states and a lot more delegates."
Sanders discussed many of the issues that have led his campaign, including free college tuition.
Sanders said education was a particularly important issue for New Mexico, which he said has the "worst high school graduation rate in the country."
"We should not be punishing people for getting an education, we should be rewarding them," he said.
Ana Murphy, a Santa Fe resident at the rally who is looking to get her doctorate, said she was particularly attracted to Sanders' promise to lighten the burden of college tuition. Part of Sander's speech included his plan to cut student loan interest rates.
Bernie Sanders says goodbye as he exits the rally in Santa Fe.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: Connie Lee/Current-Argus)
"What I really like about Bernie is that maybe I won't have to live my whole life in debt," Murphy said.
Sanders also spoke of the importance of Native Americans in the country. Many people in the crowd sported signs stating "Natives for Bernie."
"Everybody here knows if you've studied five minutes of American history that before this country became a country, when the first settlers came here, the Native American people were lied to, they were cheated, and the treaties that they signed were broken," he said.
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