2016 presidential hopefuls rally in Maine
Courtesy / Gage Skidmore, Wikimedia Commons
GOP front-runner and New York businessman Donald Trump made a campaign stop in Portland on Thursday.
The 2016 presidential hopefuls are making the rounds in Maine days before the state holds its Republican and Democratic caucuses on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
Democratic presidential hopeful U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders drew a crowd of nearly 1,800 to the State Theatre in Portland on Wednesday, with some attendees being turned away after the theater reached capacity.
Sanders announced Wednesday's Portland rally hours before the polls closed on Super Tuesday, when the candidate picked up victories in his own state of Vermont, along with Colorado, Minnesota and Oklahoma.
"If we win Maine, we move another step forward toward a political revolution in this country," the Vermont senator told the packed house, according to the Portland Press Herald.
At one point during Wednesday's rally, Sanders' took aim at Maine Gov. Paul LePage, criticizing the Republican governor for his polarizing public persona.
"You have a governor here who likes to beat up on poor people, right?" Sanders said, eliciting one of the largest responses from the crowd.
'The Donald' swoops in
Only a few hours after Sanders left Portland, GOP presidential nominee front-runner Donald Trump announced that he would also be visiting Maine's most populated city with a rally on Thursday at The Westin Portland Harborview Hotel in the heart of downtown.
Trump's visit came on the heels of his Super Tuesday victories in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia, Massachusetts and Vermont. Currently, Trump holds 319 delegates across the country, putting him ahead of second-place GOP candidate U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who has the support of 226 delegates.
Introducing the New York real estate mogul was LePage, who announced last Friday that he would be throwing his support behind Trump in the 2016 presidential election.
"I was Donald Trump before Donald Trump became popular, so I think I should support him since we're one of the same cloth," LePage said on the conservative radio show The Howie Carr Show, when he announced his endorsement for the real estate mogul.
Trump's rally packed the hotel's ballroom with a crowd of 1,100 supporters and protesters alike, according to the Press Herald, with the GOP front-runner taking breaks throughout his speech asking security to escort the most vocal protesters out.
"This is a movement. There is no plateau. People have never seen anything like it," Trump said during Thursday's speech according to the Press Herald.
Don't forget about Ted
Also making an appearance in Maine this week is the current runner-up hopeful for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas.
Cruz will be appearing at the University of Maine's Hauck Auditorium in Orono on Friday at 10:30 a.m. with doors opening at 9:30 a.m., according to the Bangor Daily News.
Following a Super Tuesday victory in his home state of Texas, Cruz also nabbed victories in Oklahoma and Alaska, bringing his total count of Republican delegates to 226 — trailing Republican front-runner Donald Trump by 90 delegates.
But where is Hillary?
Noticeably absent from the political rallies held across the state this week was Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton.
Although the former Secretary of State didn't make a personal appearance in Maine, two-time Olympic figure skating medalist Michelle Kwan did pay a visit to Clinton's Bangor campaign office on Tuesday to energize supporters.
"I think she's going to do really well. She has an incredible team, a lot of volunteers helping to knock on doors, make phone calls and get folks to volunteer — don't forget to caucus on March 6," said Kwan, according to the BDN.
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Trump to make second Maine campaign stop
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