Arizona pollster Bruce Merrill conducted a new statewide survey along with Phoenix-based Westgroup Research of likely Democratic voters and found that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is dominating there.
According to the results, 50 percent of voters say they plan to vote for her in Arizona's March 22 presidential primary, while only 24 percent of voters say they will cast a ballot for Vermont U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders. The poll was conducted before Sanders was essentially blown out on Tuesday.
It appears Arizona Dems just aren't Feelin' the Bern.
Unless "young people come out in droves," Clinton can expect a clear victory thanks to the 50-plus crowd and the Hispanic electorate.
Sanders tends to capture much of the youth vote, but it doesn't mean anything unless Sanders and his ground team mobilize people to come to the polls in huge numbers, which they have struggled to do in a number of previous primaries.
According to a recent report by KJZZ, more than 11,000 18- to 22-year-olds registered to vote since the beginning of the year: 34 percent registered as a Democratic, 22 percent as a Republican, and 43 percent as an Independent.
With Arizona’s presidential primary just 3 days away the Sanders campaign will have to vigorously move to get out the youth vote if he has any chance of winning in the Grand Canyon state.
Clinton will be visiting Arizona on Monday. She will discuss "her plans to break down racial, social and economic barriers for families," according to the media advisory.
Sanders faces an uphill battle nationally as Clinton is more than two-thirds of the way to grabbing the 2,383 delegates she needs to clinch the nomination, including an enormous pledged delegate lead of +325. She has strong backing from a large number of Democratic elected officials in Arizona and a majority of the super delegates. Arizona has 85 Democratic delegates at stake Tuesday.