Sanders kicks off New Mexico primary season

SANTA FE-- As presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders stepped up to the 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,' which means 'yes you can,' to their chants of support.

Sanders, a Democrat, is the first of the three major party presidential candidates to campaign in New Mexico prior to the primary election on June 7.

Republican candidate Donald Trump is scheduled to make his first appearance in the state Tuesday in Albuquerque, the same time that Bill Clinton is scheduled begin campaigning for his wife Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.

Sanders gave a nod to the variety of the age in the audience, commending them for their participation in the elections.

"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."

However, although the event had many different people and an attendance of almost 3,000, some members of the audience were unsure of whether or not Sanders still 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.

As of Friday afternoon, the New York Times reported Democratic Hilary Clinton to have 1,768 delegates and 525 superdelegates while Sanders held 1,494 delegates and 39 superdelegates.

Sanders reassured his variety of supporters that, despite the doubts, he was still in the running.

"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 continued to discuss many of the issues that have lead his campaign, such as free college tuition, and how it can affect residents of New Mexico.

Sanders said education was a particularly important issue for the state, which he said has the "worst high school graduation rate in the country."

"I want every child in New Mexico to understand," he said. "That if they study hard, if they do well in school, regardless of the income of their family, yes, they will be able to get a college education."

He also emphasized the importance of providing free college tuition, which was a large talking point among supporters outside of the school prior to the event.

"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 PhD, said as a student 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 to do so.

"What I really like about Bernie is that maybe I won't have to live my whole life in debt," Murphy said.

Throughout his campaign, Sanders has been known for his staunch support of minorities and the Black Lives Matter movement. Friday afternoon, he also aimed his speech at the New Mexican crowd by acknowledging 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.

His next public appearance in New Mexico was scheduled for 7 p.m. the same Friday at the Albuquerque Convention Center.

Connie Lee can be reached at 575-628-5516.