Rebekah L. Sanders

The Arizona Republic

PHOENIX — Liberal firebrand Bernie Sanders continued his whirlwind tour of Arizona on Saturday as he tries to overtake rival Hillary Clinton ahead of the state's Democratic presidential primary.

In the morning, Sanders toured the U.S.-Mexican border near Nogales, receiving cheers from people on the other side of the fence who identified themselves as deported U.S. military veterans.

The independent senator from Vermont promised to expand programs created by President Obama that protect undocumented immigrants from deportation and allow them to work legally.

Later that night, Sanders drew a boisterous crowd of about 3,300 to the state fair grounds in Phoenix, according to campaign estimates.

"Bernie Sanders — rah rah rah — we don’t need no Super PAC," the crowd chanted before he took the stage, riffing on one of Sanders' main talking points.

Trump holds Arizona rally after protesters block road

Sanders boasts of the 2 million small donors propelling his campaign, comparing it with Clinton's many wealthy donors and her well-funded political action committee.

Sanders' consistency on liberal issues over decades attracted Phoenix rallygoer Brenden Parks, 23, of Suprise.

The Honeywell warehouse employee said he sees a brighter future for his 3-year-old son under a Sanders presidency given the candidate's promises of single-payer health care and free college.

"I understand there's going to be a tax increase on the middle class," Parks said, "but the benefits will outweigh it."

Still, if Clinton is the nominee, Parks said he would have no problem supporting her: "It is still a step in the right direction."

That attitude was not shared by Michael Mora, 30, of Phoenix. The independent changed his registration to Democrat so he could vote in the state's closed presidential preference election — a necessary step that could prevent many such voters from being able to support Sanders or other candidates.

Bernie Sanders' last-minute drive to capture Arizona's Native American voters

Mora said he trusts Clinton "zero percent," forming a zero with his hand. Clinton has changed positions too many times over the years, he said.

Economic issues are the deciding factor for him.

"People are saying (Sanders) is trying to give away free stuff. That's not what he's trying to do," Mora said. "He's trying to make everything as fair for everybody as possible."

Catherine Schuyler, a 67-year-old Sanders campaign volunteer wearing an American flag T-shirt, said she thinks the candidate would win the presidency if he made it to the general election.

"I think he will trash Trump," she said. "He's got the honesty and the integrity that Trump lacks."

Sanders' campaign circuit in Arizona began a week ago, when his wife, Jane Sanders, met with Native American tribal leaders seeking to block a mining project on land they consider sacred, called Oak Flat.

Obama to get more active in 2016 campaign

She also confronted Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio about his hardline immigration policies as she visited his infamous outdoor jail, Tent City. Clinton supporters criticized the encounter as playing into the sheriff's media ploys.

Sanders arrived Tuesday to pump up a crowd of more than 7,000 at the Phoenix Convention Center. After taking a break with family in Sedona, he rallied nearly 3,000 on the Navajo reservation Thursday before heading to Tucson on Friday to speak to another roughly 7,000.

Clinton's campaign has been holding events nearly daily in Arizona for several weeks with surrogates, from celebrities to politicians to activists such as gun violence survivors. A television ad is airing featuring former Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords touting Clinton's gun-control plan.

President Bill Clinton will make appearances on his wife's behalf Sunday.

And on Monday, a day before the primary election, Hillary Clinton will hold a meeting with tribal leaders and a rally in the afternoon at a local high school.

Contributing: The Associated Press