As early voting surged in Nevada's nominating contest, former Vice President Joe Biden lashed out at Democratic rival Bernie Sanders on Saturday for not doing enough to control his most aggressive supporters.
Biden's attack during an interview for NBC's Meet The Press came as he fights to rescue his struggling presidential bid and Sanders works to strengthen his strong standing with the contest speeding into a new phase.
Biden also sought to downplay expectations for next Saturday's Nevada caucuses, telling reporters that he did not need to win.
In the interview, the former vice president seized on reports that Sanders' supporters insulted and made online threats against leaders of an influential union that declined to endorse any of the eight candidates still in the Democratic race.
He may not be responsible for it, but he has some accountability, Biden charged. He continued: If any of my supporters did that, I'd disown them ... flat disown them.
The Sanders campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Biden's assertion. But Thursday in an interview with PBS, Sanders distanced himself from such behavior. "Anybody making personal attacks against anybody else in my name is not part of our movement," Sanders said, denouncing such behavior in all campaigns.
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Saturday night, Sanders laced into billionaire candidate Mike Bloomberg at a Democratic Party dinner in Las Vegas, rattling off a list of heresies against the Democratic party he accused the former New York mayor of committing.
Bloomberg implemented racist policies like stop and frisk in New York, opposed the minimum wage and higher taxes on the wealthy during the Obama administration, Sanders said.
"The simple truth is that Mayor Bloomberg, with all his money, will not create the kind of excitement and energy we need to have the voter turnout we must have to defeat Donald Trump, Sanders said.
It was a rare attack by name from Sanders. Bloomberg is skipping the Nevada caucuses and was not at the Clark County Democratic Party dinner where Sanders and other 2020 contenders spoke.
The dinner capped the first day of a weekend of frenzied campaigning, colored by mobile campaign billboards cruising the Las Vegas strip and a diverse set of voters weighing in for the first time.
While the state's formal presidential caucuses are still a week away, Democrats opened the first of four days of early voting across more than 80 locations. State party officials at some sites across Nevada were overwhelmed by long lines.
In northern Nevada's Washoe County, a line of more than 300 people snaked through aisles of book shelves at a public library as another 100 queued up at the county party's headquarters. Dozens left without voting.
A spokeswoman for the Nevada Democrats, Molly Forgey, downplayed concerns related to the large early turnout as the political world anxiously watched from afar less than two weeks after Iowa's presidential caucuses turned disastrous.
We are happy to see the number of energized Democrats participating in our first ever early voting period, Forgey said, noting that early voters have four days to participate.
Our volunteers and staff are working to make every site runs as efficiently as possible and to ensure every voter gets to make their voice heard.
Early votes cast on paper ballots will be added to in-person caucus votes made on Feb. 22, when Democrats will attend about 2,000 precinct meetings around the state.
The Nevada State Democratic Party abandoned its plans to use an app like the one that caused trouble in Iowa and has scrambled to come up with a new system to tabulate results.
Amid heightened concern over the process, several candidates were making urgent get-out-the-vote pushes with rallies and town halls ahead of the fundraising gala Saturday night.
Biden, looking to Nevada's diverse electorate to help revive his campaign after weak finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire, seized on President Donald Trump's hard-line policy and incendiary rhetoric on immigration as he courted voters.
"Everybody knows how Donald Trump is. We gotta let him know who we are," Biden said, drawing a roar from about 100 campaign volunteers gathered at a Las Vegas middle school gymnasium for a Latino organizing event.
Biden thanked the volunteers, emphasized the importance of the Latino vote and touted his relationships with unions. He later told reporters that he didn't need to win Nevada's caucuses to mount a comeback.
"I just have to do well," the former vice president said when asked what he needs out of the state. Asked whether he has to win, he replied, No, I don't think I have to, but I think we have a shot at winning.
Former Sen. Harry Reid, an icon in Nevada's Democratic politics, told reporters that people should not be counting Joe Biden out of the race yet, but also offered warm words for Sanders' candidacy. When asked he downplayed concerns from some Democrats that Sanders might hurt other candidates should he become the nominee.
I care a great deal about Bernie Sanders. And he has gotten where he has by having people support him," said the 80-year-old Reid. And so I'm not going to be critical of Bernie Sanders.
Elizabeth Warren, meanwhile, also reeling after a weak performance last week in New Hampshire, looked to Nevada's women for momentum.