WASHINGTON (AP) – The Latest on campaign 2016 (all times Eastern):
7:45 a.m.
Bernie Sanders’ wife and adviser Jane Sanders says his campaign will do well in the remaining contests because they are open primaries, which she describes as “more democratic.”
In an interview with MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” Thursday, Jane Sanders noted that Bernie Sanders won Rhode Island on Tuesday, which was an open primary, allowing independents as well as Democrats to vote for her husband.
“If you close the primary and you only have people who have been in the Democratic Party for years, what you are doing is effectively shutting the door on the millions of people that Bernie has brought in to the political process during this election,” she said.
She also said that his campaign intends to continue through the final contest in California, despite a revelation Wednesday that the campaign plans to lay off hundreds of field staffers and other aides.
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3:00 a.m.
An astonishing Republican presidential primary season has taken another unusual turn.
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has picked Carly Fiorina as his running mate – even though he’s mathematically unable to become the GOP nominee through the regular voting process.
It’s the move of a candidate desperate to block front-runner Donald Trump, who is growing only stronger as the primary contest presses deeper into the spring.
Trump now has 80 percent of the delegates he needs for the Republican nomination, though he could still fall short and have to battle Cruz at a contested convention. Trump must win 48 percent of the remaining delegates to avoid that scenario.
Cruz’s White House hopes now rest largely on Tuesday’s primary in Indiana. That’s where he announced Wednesday that he is tapping Fiorina as his vice presidential pick.