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SALT LAKE CITY — Bernie is coming to Utah.
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who is considered the frontrunner in the Democratic presidential race, will be in the state the day before Super Tuesday, when Utah will hold its primary election.
Sanders will hold a rally March 2 at noon at the Utah State Fairpark central mall in Salt Lake City.
This will be the first campaign event for Sanders in Utah this election cycle. Other presidential candidates who have appeared in the state include former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, former South Bend (Indiana) Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard.
Former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld, who is challenging President Donald Trump in the Republican presidential primary, also visited Utah last week.
A Jan. 27 Salt Lake Tribune/Suffolk University poll put Sanders well in the lead in Utah's primary with 27% support among people who said they would vote in the March 3 Democratic primary. Warren came in second in that poll with 14% support.
When Sanders campaigned in the 2016 Democratic primary against Hillary Clinton, he held a pair of campaign rallies at This Is The Place Heritage Park and West High School.
Sanders's Utah appearance comes following primary election wins in New Hampshire and Nevada. Sanders and Buttigieg essentially tied in the Iowa primary for the delegate race, but Sanders won the popular vote.
Next up is the Democratic primary in South Carolina, which takes place Saturday.
Sanders, Buttigieg, Bloomberg and Warren, along with Sen. Amy Klobuchar, former Vice President Joe Biden and businessman Tom Steyer, went head-to-head in a debate Tuesday evening in Charleston, South Carolina, ahead of the primary.
As the frontrunner in the race, Sanders was a target for the other candidates, whose criticisms against him included questions on how he would pay for his policy proposals, his voting history on gun control legislation, and whether he would be able to beat Trump in a general election.
Sanders stood his ground, though, noting that many of his plans are already implemented in other countries across the world and reiterating that his Medicare For All plan would save Americans money.
