LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Following a resurgent performance on Super Tuesday, Democratic presidential hopeful and former Vice President Joe Biden will make a campaign appearance in Westwood today, then attend an evening fundraiser hosted by former Paramount Pictures chief Sherry Lansing.
By early Wednesday morning, Biden had been declared the victor in nine Super Tuesday states -- Alabama, Arkansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. He fell short in California, the day's biggest prize, which was claimed by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Sanders also won the primaries in Colorado, Utah and Vermont.
Although Sanders was declared the victor in California, the state's vote-tabulating was expected to continue for weeks, leaving the exact distribution of delegates uncertain.
Biden, however, was in a celebratory mood Tuesday night as he appeared at a rally in Baldwin Hills, declaring his campaign “very much alive” despite earlier prognostications that his presidential bid was on life support.
“For those who have been knocked down, counted out, left behind, this is your campaign,” Biden told the crowd. “Just a few days ago, the press and the pundits declared the campaign dead, and then came South Carolina, they had something to say about it. And we were told, well when we get to Super Tuesday, it'll be over. Well it may be over for the other guy.”
Biden's rally was tainted by a scary moment when a pair of anti-dairy protesters managed to climb onto the stage -- one of them tussling briefly with Biden's wife, Jill, before security descended on the pair and carried them away from the podium.
Biden briefly halted his speech during the commotion, then continued talking without making any reference to the disturbance.
“I'm here to report we are very much alive,” he said. “Make no mistake about it, this campaign will send Donald Trump packing. This campaign is taking off.”
He lashed out at Trump, saying the president has “fanned the flames of hate and sought to divide us. He's insulted, demonized and actually just -- the way he talks about people. He has not a single sense of empathy. He doesn't have any compassion. No regard for the values that made this country who we are. Not the way you were raised by your moms and dads. He looks at honesty and decency and respect and he views it as a sign of weakness.”
Despite Biden's strong performance Tuesday, Sanders was in no mood to concede. Speaking to supporters in Vermont, Sanders maintained his confidence.
“Tonight I tell you with absolute confidence we are gonna win the Democratic nomination, and we are going to defeat the most dangerous president in the history of this country,” he said. “It is our campaign, our movement which is best positioned to defeat Trump. You cannot beat Trump with the same- old, same-old kind of politics.”
Biden, who criss-crossed the Los Angeles area Tuesday, is also scheduled to hold a fundraiser Wednesday night hosted by Lansing. Tickets for the event range from $1,000 to $2,800.
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