Clinton hopes to ride on immigrant card in California

Both Clinton and Sanders campaigned across California, stopping in immigrant communities, big cities and the agricultural heartland on the final weekend before Tuesday’s primary in the nation’s biggest state. California is the final big contest in the long, bitter fight for the Democratic nomination. Opinion polls show the Democratic race there tightening in recent weeks. 

Where Clinton, a former secretary of state, once held a big lead over Sanders, a US senator from Vermont, the two now are nearly tied. A University of Southern California/ Los Angeles Times poll released on Friday showed Sanders with a one-percentage-point lead over Clinton in the state, 44 to 43 percent, a swing from March when Clinton held a nine-point edge. 

On the Republican side, Donald Trump has earned the nomination for the Nov. 8 election, and Clinton is close to capturing the number of delegates she needs to head the Democratic ticket. Her campaign expects that a win in New Jersey earlier on Tuesday will secure the nomination. But a loss in a populous Democratic stronghold like California could lend credence to Trump’s claim that she is a weakened candidate. 

A Sanders victory will not clear the way to his nomination unless it triggers a defection by scores of superdelegates - party office-holders and officials - from Clinton’s camp, an unlikely outcome. The large minority population might be expected to translate into an advantage for Clinton, who has consistently shown strength with such groups. Stopping Trump was on the minds of those who said they would vote for Clinton on Tuesday.