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SAN FRANCISCO — Sen. Bernie Sanders wrapped up California’s presidential candidate-packed Democratic convention Sunday with not-so-subtle jabs at Joe Biden, the only major candidate missing at the event, in the strongest broadsides between the two frontrunners so far.

While Sanders didn’t mention Biden by name, he suggested that the former vice president’s more moderate approach would fail to energize voters the party needs to unseat President Donald Trump, eliciting cheers from liberal delegates at Moscone Convention Center.

“There is a debate among presidential candidates who have spoken to you here in this room and those who have chosen, for whatever reason, not to be in this room, about the best way forward,” Sanders said. “We cannot go back to the old ways; we have got to go forward with a new, progressive agenda.”

The Vermont senator repeatedly insisted that there is “no middle ground” on issues such as abortion, gun control and health care, and predicted that “we will not defeat Donald Trump unless we bring excitement and energy into the campaign” and mobilize young and working-class voters.

The speech previewed what could be a more combative phase of a presidential primary that has so far been mostly congenial. Sanders wasn’t the only candidate to take swipes at Biden, who was in Columbus, Ohio, to speak at an LGBTQ rights dinner this weekend.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren told delegates that “some say if we all just calm down, the Republicans will come to their senses, but our country is in a time of crisis — the time for small ideas is over,” referring to the former vice president’s prediction last month that Republicans will have an “epiphany” and work with Democrats once Trump leaves office.

And South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg declared that Trump “wins if we look like more of the same,” and that “the riskiest thing we could do is try too hard to play it safe” in the 2020 election.

Fourteen presidential contenders spoke at the convention this weekend, a sign of the state’s newfound significance in next year’s primary race. Golden State voters will go to the polls March 3, along with other Super Tuesday states and just after the traditional four early states.

Mail-in ballots will be sent out Feb. 3, the same day Iowans caucus. And with nearly 500 delegates up for grabs, California will be the largest prize in the country.

While the convention hall was only about half full when Sanders spoke Sunday — many delegates tend to leave early — he had one of the most packed schedules of any candidate at the convention. The senator met delegates Friday, and appeared at multiple forums in San Francisco on Saturday before headlining a San Jose rally and rushing pack up the Peninsula to appear at party caucus meetings and a grassroots fundraiser.

The hectic agenda showed the importance Sanders’ campaign places on California (although maybe not Bay Area traffic smarts — he was more than an hour late to his evening fundraiser).

“You don’t just run TV ads to win the state of California, you actually connect with organizers and have a commitment to the grassroots,” said Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Fremont, one of Sanders’ national campaign chairs and a darling of California progressives. “Bernie’s doing that.”

Still, many delegates said they had been especially impressed by Warren, who attracted 6,500 people to her own town hall in Oakland on Friday and got a hero’s welcome from delegates during her Saturday speech. Warren and Sanders are competing for the same progressive supporters.

“She’s the only one who really laid out specific plans,” said Liz Soto, a delegate from Ventura County. “Seeing her in person was so impressive, and better than on TV.”

In a sign of the convention crowd’s left-wing tilt, former Maryland Rep. John Delaney faced loud boos Sunday as he argued against Medicare-for-All. Former housing secretary Julián Castro got a warmer reaction as he talked up his experience and vowed to tell Trump “adios” on inauguration day 2021.

Democrats also elected Los Angeles labor leader Rusty Hicks party chair Saturday evening, in a wider-than-expected margin over progressive Richmond activist Kimberly Ellis. Ellis narrowly lost a race for party chair in 2017, and her second loss disappointed progressive activists.

The new leadership comes as the party has been roiled by sexual harassment allegations against the former chair, Eric Bauman, who resigned last year, and multiple lawsuits accusing party officials of covering up or enabling his actions.

Hicks said in an interview that the convergence of White House contenders on San Francisco demonstrated how the national party looked to the Golden State for leadership.

“It’s a real opportunity for California to showcase to the rest of the nation how you can have a robust, high-road, transparent debate of ideas,” Hicks said. “Our primary clearly matters.”

Later Sunday, East Bay Rep. Eric Swalwell will get one of the biggest spotlights of his presidential campaign so far as he goes on CNN for a nationally televised town hall at 5 p.m. Pacific time. It’ll give him an opportunity for a viral moment when his campaign is still mired near the bottom of almost every poll.

Expect Swalwell to talk about gun violence, education policy and abortion rights — and introduce himself to the country.

“I want the voters watching to walk away saying, ‘He gets me, he knows how hard I work, because of the way he lives,’” he said in an interview. That paralleled the congressman’s appearance at the convention Saturday, when he played up his everyman appeal by talking about his middle-class roots and the student loans he’s still paying off.

One downside for Swalwell: He’ll take the CNN stage at the same time as Game 2 of the NBA finals tip off.