Staff reports

Democratic Sen. Bernie Sanders found some reprieve in the Coachella Valley before forging ahead Friday with his presidential campaign swing through New Mexico and California, both of which have June 7 primaries.

Sanders spent two nights in the valley, staying at Two Bunch Palms in Desert Hot Springs on Wednesday and Thursday and strolling through Village Fest in downtown Palm Springs.

"We were thrilled we were able to give Sen. Sanders and his campaign staff the rest they needed and the ability to stay away from the cameras ... for a while," said Rianna Riego, executive director of Wellness Brand and Communications for Two Bunch Palms resort.

Sanders' group included his wife Jane, Secret Service agents and campaign aides, she said.

The Vermont senator left the resort in a motorcade about 10:20 a.m. Friday before leaving the valley for an afternoon rally in Santa Fe, N.M. Sanders plans to swing back through Southern California this weekend with two stops in the San Diego area and another in Irvine.

While some have suggested he drop out of the Democratic race with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Sanders has generated some momentum in recent months.

In a news release issued Thursday with a dateline of Palm Springs, Sanders responded to Clinton, who told CNN she will be the Democratic nominee for president.

“In the past three weeks, voters in Indiana, West Virginia and Oregon respectfully disagreed with Secretary Clinton," the statement said.

Sanders enjoyed his brief getaway to the desert, said his spokesman, Michael Briggs. The visit to Palm Springs was not his first. Briggs added: "Really nice vibe, he enjoyed it."

Sanders stayed in "one of the fancier rooms we have," Two Bunch Palms gate attendant Steven Gonzalez, 23, told The Desert Sun. He described the suite as a four-room building, each with a Jacuzzi, front and back patios and a pool in the middle.

"It's cool to have a really powerful senator here. I definitely feel the Bern," Gonzalez said, laughing.

The group stayed in various places at the resort, Riego said.

"They were unobtrusive" and blended well with the other guests who recognized Sanders but respected his privacy and did not approach him, she said.

"We are so honored he chose us" for his stay, she said, adding Sanders had stayed at the resort once before about five years ago.

Two Bunch Palms guest Brigid Donahue, 37, of Los Angeles, was out for a jog Friday morning.

After making her way up Two Bunch Palms Trail on the last leg of her run, she let out a big scream – and a few, "Are you ... kidding me!" when asked if she knew Sanders was staying there.

"That is awesome," she yelled, before quickly texting her friend – who she was staying with at the resort – that Sanders was there.

Donahue, who said she was just on a getaway from L.A., had no idea she was sharing the resort with a Democratic presidential candidate. But she did notice security activity around the grounds.

"Last night when we pulled in and I saw a guy with an earpiece, I said to my friend, joking, 'Oh, the CIA's here.'"

"This is great! You know, I'm a big Hillary supporter, but I like the guy. He's a remarkable guy. ... He's been in the civil rights struggle his whole career – so it would be great if he could get elected, but I'm a true Hillary supporter from day one."

Sanders showed up at VillageFest in Palm Springs on Thursday night, arriving without much notice but delighting supporters and others who suddenly spotted him mingling in downtown.

Kamber Fishbein, a 19-year-old Sanders supporter, was visiting from Los Angeles with her friends and mother when they heard Sanders was at the downtown street fair that features arts and crafts.

Fishbein and others rushed through the crowd until they found the candidate, surrounded by security guards, shaking hands and taking photos.

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“We ran and we caught up to him,” Fishbein said. “We got a security guard to take the photo – he seemed mad – but he still took it.”

Numerous photos lit up Twitter Thursday night showing the presidential hopeful in Palm Springs, posing for pictures with people during VillageFest along Palm Canyon Drive.

Photos of Sanders, dressed in casual attire, began popping up on social media about 9 p.m. Thursday.

Those who saw Sanders said that besides enjoying VillageFest, the Vermont senator also dined at Las Casuelas Terraza on Palm Canyon Drive.

Restaurant manager Eric Navarro said Sanders' security detail arrived mid-afternoon.

"The Secret Service got here around 3; it caught us by surprise. They said a presidential candidate was coming. We showed them around the restaurant and prepared two tables, one inside and one outside and he chose the one inside," Navarro said.

"As soon as he came in, people were like, 'Bernie! Bernie! Take a picture!' He walked through the whole restaurant and waved to everybody. ... He was real polite to people, taking pictures. It was awesome," Navarro said.

He sat with five other people at his table and there were about six to eight Secret Service members with him.

Sanders' order: Pork fajitas. Hold the spice.

The restaurant staff didn't talk to him while he ate, but once Sanders went to the street fair, he was "free to the people," Navarro said.

Busboy Eric Bloom described the candidate as "very down to earth, just a normal guy keeping to himself."

Sherry and Cary Harwin of Yucca Valley ate dinner Thursday at the restaurant, but sat in the back and discovered too late the senator's appearance.

"We missed him!" an incredulous Cary said a couple blocks away.

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The couple acknowledged that Sanders probably won't win the nomination but were pleased nonetheless that he's stayed in the race so long, in an attempt to show the nation's leaders how a politician should speak.

"I'm hoping at some point, he helps put the party back together," Sherry said.

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Malgosia Nowakowski was tending to customers shopping at her pottery booth when she looked up and saw Sanders and his wife.

"I was surprised because I didn't know he'd be here," Nowakowski said.

The artist said Sanders kept a low profile and easily blended in with the crowd.

"I don't think anyone recognized him until he passed our booth and then everyone was taking selfies," she added.

Sanders' swing through Palm Springs comes on the heels of Sen. Barbara Boxer's comments Wednesday that her Saturday appearance at the Nevada Democratic convention, which reportedly culminated in fights and thrown chairs, caused her to fear for her safety.

Before security shut down the event, Boxer, a resident of Rancho Mirage, took the stage and called for civility, but immediately pivoted as supporters of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders began booing.

“When you boo me, you're booing Bernie Sanders,” she responded. “Go ahead. Bernie is my friend. You want to boo Bernie, boo me.”

Since Clinton won the Nevada caucus in February, Sanders supporters have been fighting for every possible delegate. Saturday’s unrest was sparked by a dispute over convention rules. Sixty of Sanders’ delegates were declared ineligible.

Sanders has refused to apologize for the convention chaos, and reiterated he doesn’t advocate violence. To suggest otherwise would be “nonsense,” he said. Instead, he blamed Democratic leaders for using “power to prevent a fair and transparent process from taking place.”

Though his chances of getting the nomination are slim, Sanders has vowed to continue campaigning until the last of the primaries on June 14.

Desert Sun staffers Anna Rumer, Brett Kelman, Gabby Ferreira, Denise Goolsby, Sherry Barkas, Jesse Marx, Daniel Simon and Marie McCain contributed to this story.

Follow the presidential trail

Sen. Bernie Sanders will return to California on Saturday for an evening rally in National City. Desert Sun columnist Denise Goolsby will be there. Follow her Tweets during the event @DeniseGoolsby



