BOSTON - Massachusetts politicians and activists backing Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders in the March 1 Democratic primary held dueling press conferences on Wednesday to tout their candidates' support in communities of color.

The press conferences came as a new survey from Public Policy Polling showed a seven-point lead in the Bay State for Sanders, a socialist U.S. senator from Vermont. Clinton, a former secretary of state and U.S. senator from New York, is the Democratic frontrunner for the nomination.

Felix D. Arroyo, a former Boston city councilor who now serves in the elected position of Suffolk County register of the probate and family court, said Sanders is a "unifying candidate" focused on America's middle class.

"His message is a very clear message that the economy is not working" for many in the United States, added Arroyo, who lives in the Roslindale neighborhood of Boston.

Joining Arroyo on the steps of the Massachusetts Statehouse were Elena Letona and Patricia Montes of East Boston, and Lawrence City Council President Kendrys Vasquez, and state Sen. Jamie Eldridge, D-Acton.

Montes, an immigrant from Honduras who has lived in the United States for 11 years, had a personal reason for supporting Sanders over Clinton, a former U.S. secretary of state.

"She supported a coup d'etat in my country," Montes said.

(A Clinton spokesman, Harrell Kirstein, called the charge "simply nonsense" and said Clinton "engaged in active diplomacy that resolved a constitutional crisis and paved the way for legitimate democratic elections.")

Letona said Clinton demonstrates "tremendous grace under pressure" but she considers Sanders "way more inspirational" and the "one candidate who speaks to my heart."

More than an hour earlier, in the same spot outside the Statehouse, a larger group of Clinton supporters, primarily African-American elected officials, promoted their support for the frontrunner.

Former Suffolk County Sheriff Andrea Cabral said Clinton has been the only candidate to travel to Flint, Michigan, a city hit by a contaminated drinking water crisis.

Clinton "deserves our vote because she has earned it," Cabral said, calling the former secretary of state the "most qualified" for the White House job.

Standing alongside Cabral were her successor, Sheriff Steve Tompkins; Boston City Councilor At-Large Ayanna Pressley, state Sen. Linda Dorcena Forry, D-Boston; Boston City Council President Michelle Wu, Boston City Councilor Tito Jackson, local leader Alejandra St. Guillen and Darnell Williams, former president of the Springfield chapter of the NAACP.

Pressley said Clinton understands voters' feeling of anger and frustration. "But at the end of the day, as the secretary so aptly put it, anger is not a plan and venting is not a strategy," Pressley said.

"She knows plans without price tags are simply pandering," she added.

"Secretary Clinton has been one of the most criticized, targeted, maligned figures in political history," Pressley said. "She knew this was not going to be a cakewalk or coronation."

Pressley said she met Clinton for the first time in person at an EMILY'S List gala last year, when Pressley was awarded the "Gabrielle Giffords Rising Star Award."

The Clinton campaign is deploying Pressley in Georgia and South Carolina, and she has appeared as a Clinton surrogate on MSNBC and CNN.

Clinton has grabbed most of the endorsements from Massachusetts elected officials in the Democratic Party. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and Attorney General Maura Healey are both backing Clinton.

But endorsements from elected officials don't always carry much weight with voters. Many Massachusetts Democrats headed to New Hampshire for the primary earlier in February to campaign for Clinton, who lost with 38 percent to Sanders's 60 percent.

Endorsements appear to have a limited impact on both sides of the political aisle. The popular Gov. Charlie Baker wasn't able to help fellow Republican Gov. Chris Christie finish well in New Hampshire. Christie dropped out after finishing in sixth place.

Baker told reporters last week he's unlikely to make another endorsement in the Republican presidential primary any time soon.