The latest: Clinton, Sanders clash over Export-Import Bank

Associated Press

Published Sunday, March 6, 2016 | 11:51 a.m.

Updated Sunday, March 6, 2016 | 6:03 p.m.

The latest on the 2016 presidential campaign, with contests in Maine and Puerto Rico today and a Democratic debate in Flint, Mich. (all times Eastern Standard Time):

8:40 p.m.

Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are at odds over his past opposition to the federal Export-Import Bank, which makes and guarantees loans to help foreign customers buy U.S. goods.

In Sunday's Democratic debate, Clinton criticized Sanders, saying the U.S. is in a "race for exports" and that without the bank, "more jobs would be lost here at home."

Sanders counters 75 percent of the money goes to profitable corporations such that have outsourced jobs overseas. He was the only Democrat to oppose the bank, but he says "Democrats are not always right" and "have often supported corporate welfare."

Clinton says Boeing deserves assistance from the government to keep pace with Airbus, because the U.S. is not as "aggressive" as other countries.

Asked if he was agreeing with Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, Sanders says "Democrats are not always right" and Democrats have supported "corporate welfare" in the past. Sanders is the nation's longest-serving independent member of Congress and has caucused with Democrats in the Senate.

8:30 p.m.

Hillary Clinton is arguing that Bernie Sanders opposed the bailout of the auto industry.

During a Democratic debate in Flint Sunday night, Clinton said she voted to save the auto industry, while Sanders, she said, "voted against the money" that saved the auto industry.

Sanders said that Clinton was talking about the Wall Street bailout package, through which "some of your friends destroyed this economy." Clinton tried to rebuttal but Sanders uncharacteristically snapped back: "Excuse me, I'm talking."

Clinton replied: "If you're going to talk, tell the whole story."

Clinton later called the vote a hard but necessary choice, saying that "If everybody had voted the way he did, I believe the auto industry would have collapsed taking 4 million jobs with it."

8:25 p.m.

Bernie Sanders says he's glad that Hillary Clinton has "discovered religion" on trade but he says it's too late.

At the CNN Democratic debate in Flint, Michigan Sunday, Sanders accused Clinton of supporting "disastrous trade agreements" such as the North American Free Trade Agreement and normalizing trade relations with China that he says have led to job losses.

Sanders spoke after Clinton discussed a number of ways to help manufacturing jobs.

Clinton says there needs to be both "carrots and sticks" so that manufacturers make investments in the U.S.

She says the country needs a comprehensive plan for manufacturing and improve roads and bridges.

8:15 p.m.

Democrats Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders say people at the Environmental Protection Agency should their lose jobs over the Flint water crisis.

Asked whether she would fire the head of the EPA over the lead-tainted water, Clinton said Sunday night during a Democratic debate in Flint that she would launch an investigation "and determine who knew what, when, and yes people should be fired."

To the same question, Sanders said a "President Sanders would fire anybody who knew what was happening and did not act appropriately."

8:10 p.m.

Hillary Clinton says as president, she would assure Flint residents that their water has been double- and triple-checked before telling them it is OK to use it again.

In the Democratic debate in the Michigan city, she is applauding President Barack Obama's for pushing for the resignation of a regional administrator because of Flint's water crisis and says he was right to expand Medicaid to help people there. She also says health and education interventions must be done to help Flint children with elevated lead levels.

Bernie Sanders says if the state government refuses to act, he as president would ensure that federal government acts immediately. He says something also must be done about Flint's high water rates.

8:07 p.m.

Hillary Clinton is echoing calls by her rival Bernie Sanders for the resignation of Republican Gov. Rick Snyder of Michigan, saying he should either resign or be recalled from office in the aftermath of Flint's water crisis.

Clinton says in her opening statement in the Democratic debate that "it is raining lead in Flint" and more needs to be done to help the residents of Flint deal with the aftermaths of contaminated drinking water.

Sanders notes in his opening statement that he had called on Snyder to resign for his "dereliction" of duty. He says what is happening in Flint is happening throughout the country to a lesser degree.

Clinton says: "Amen to that."

8:05 p.m.

Bernie Sanders' win in Maine will give him more delegates than Hillary Clinton for the night. But it won't have much impact on Clinton's substantial lead overall.

With 25 Maine delegates at stake, Sanders is assured of winning at least 14 while Clinton stands to gain at least six.

He can now lay claim to winning eight of the 19 states that voted in primaries or caucuses to date, having prevailed in Maine, Kansas and Nebraska over the weekend.

But Sanders is making little headway in delegates after Clinton's large margin of victory in Louisiana on Saturday.

For the weekend, out of 134 delegates at stake, Sanders will win at least 66 and Clinton at least 63. Five delegates remain to be allocated in Maine.

8:05 p.m.

Bernie Sanders has won the Democratic presidential caucuses in Maine, beating rival Hillary Clinton for his eighth win in the nomination process.

Prior to the contest in Maine, Clinton had at least 1,123 delegates to Sanders' 484, including superdelegates — members of Congress, governors and party officials who can support the candidate of their choice.

It takes 2,383 delegates to win the Democratic nomination.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz won in Maine's Republican caucuses on Saturday.

8 p.m.

At the start of the Democratic debate in Flint, Michigan, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are bowing their heads with the audience in a moment of silence to honor former first lady Nancy Reagan, who died Sunday.

The wife of former President Ronald Reagan was 94.

7:55 p.m.

The latest Democratic presidential debate is about to begin in Flint, Michigan, where a contaminated water crisis has become a major focal point of the campaign.

Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders will face off in the CNN debate Sunday as Democratic caucusing is wrapping up in Maine, where 25 delegates are up for grabs.

Clinton has added to her overall delegate lead after winning most of the delegates at stake in Saturday's contests.

Out of 109 delegates, she won 57 while Bernie Sanders picked up 52.

Sanders won the Kansas and Nebraska caucuses, but his gains were overcome by Clinton's large margin of victory in Louisiana.

6:55 p.m.

John Kasich believes he can convince some of Donald Trump's supporters to back him instead of the billionaire because he has better answers on how to fix the nation's problems.

Kasich tells The Associated Press that he doesn't think it will be very hard to bring Trump voters his way as his message becomes more familiar. On the trail, Kasich often says he understands peoples' economic anxieties because he grew up in a scrappy blue collar town in Pennsylvania.

He says, "If they can hear me, and what I've done, that's the ticket. I believe that if I can sit with some Trump people - I won't get them all - if I can sit with them they're gonna understand that I'm one of them."

6:50 p.m.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich is lagging far behind his rivals in the delegates needed to clench the nomination, with just 35 compared to Trump's 382.

But he remains confident in his ability to win his home state of Ohio on March 15 and go on to win the nomination, even if he has to wrest it from Trump at a contested convention this summer.

"Don't doubt my tenacity in this," he says.

In the recent GOP debate in Detroit, Kasich said he would support Trump if the businessman becomes the nominee, although he noted Trump sometimes says things that would make supporting him hard.

Kasich notes that he took on Trump last year over his position to deport everyone living in the country illegally. Kasich does not support mass deportation.

"I see these things and they bother me," he says of Trump.

6:45 p.m.

Workers advocating for a higher minimum wage are demonstrating outside the Democratic debate venue in Flint, Michigan.

Roughly 100 people from the Fight for 15 — fast food workers seeking a $15 per hour minimum wage — gathered Sunday near the Flint Cultural Center, chanting: "What do we want? Fifteen! When do we want it? Now!"

Kendall Fells, the national organizing director for the group, said the activists were from the Detroit and Flint chapters of the organization. The group has protested at all the Democratic and Republican debates calling for the right to form a union, boost the minimum wage to fifteen dollars-an-hour and achieve racial equality.

Tyrone Stitt, 43, of Flint, said he has been working at Taco Bell for 18 years and makes $8.50 an hour, which he says is not "enough to survive."

6:30 p.m.

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump says that as president, he would push to change laws that prohibit waterboarding and other, more extreme forms of torture.

He argues that banning it puts the U.S. at a strategic disadvantage against Islamic State militants.

Over the past week, in a series of interviews and events, Trump has articulated a loose, but expansive set of principles that, if enacted, would mark a fundamental shift in U.S. foreign policy from the limits put in place by the administration of Democratic President Barack Obama.

In addition to arguing in favor of reinstating waterboarding, a technique that mimics the sensation of drowning, and "much more than that," Trump has advocated the killing of suspected terrorists' wives and children.

5:45 p.m.

Marco Rubio will collect all 23 of Puerto Rico's delegates after posting a huge win in the U.S. territory. But he still lags far behind rivals Donald Trump and Ted Cruz.

Like many states, Puerto Rico awards all the GOP delegates to a candidate who gets more than 50 percent of the vote. Rubio was well above that threshold in the Sunday contest.

Based on updated results, Trump and John Kasich also picked up delegates in Vermont, which held its primary Tuesday.

In the overall race for delegates, Trump has 384 and Cruz has 300. Rubio has 151 delegates and Kasich has 37.

It takes 1,237 delegates to win the Republican nomination for president.

4:55 p.m.

Hillary Clinton has added to her overall delegate lead after winning most of the delegates at stake in Saturday's contests.

Out of 109 delegates, she won 57 while Bernie Sanders picked up 52.

Sanders won the Kansas and Nebraska caucuses, but his gains were overcome by Clinton's large margin of victory in Louisiana.

The two candidates are competing in the Maine caucuses on Sunday, where 25 delegates are up for grabs.

Including superdelegates, Clinton now has 1,123 delegates and Sanders has 484. It takes 2,383 delegates to win.

4:05 p.m.

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio has won Puerto Rico's Republican primary, his second win of the race for the GOP presidential nomination.

It wasn't clear how many delegates the contest awards him.

The U.S. territory's three super-delegates have committed to Rubio.

If a candidate gets more than half the votes, he gets all the delegates. If no one gets half, the delegates are divided proportionally.

In addition officials say the votes that some 6,000 inmates cast on Friday won't be available until Wednesday.

Rubio also won Minnesota.

3:58 p.m.

Florida Senator Marco Rubio is taking an early lead in Puerto Rico's Republican primary, with 23 delegates at stake.

Rubio so far has 2,463 votes, followed by Trump with 421 votes and Ted Cruz with 276 votes. Final results are expected by 8 p.m. EST. Party officials estimate more than 30,000 people voted Sunday.

In addition officials say the votes that some 6,000 inmates cast on Friday won't be available until Wednesday.

The U.S. territory's three super-delegates have committed to Rubio.

If a candidate gets more than half the votes, he gets all the delegates. If no one gets half, the delegates are divided proportionally.

3:41 p.m.

Female pastors in Detroit are likening Hillary Clinton to a biblical warrior.

Bishop Corletta Vaughn of Holy Ghost Cathedral said she watched Clinton "take a licking and keep on ticking" — not politically, but "as a wife and a mother." She says Clinton taught women "how to stand in the middle of adversity, keep your face on, don't sweat it."

Vaughn cited the biblical character Deborah, a female fighter in the Old Testament, as she introduced Clinton on Sunday. So did Deedee Coleman, pastor at Russell Street Missionary Baptist Church.

Coleman said that when she thinks about Clinton, she thinks about "Deborah the warrior who will fight for us in Washington."

Clinton made some biblical references herself. She saw one piece of scripture that has impacted her life is the parable of the prodigal son, which she said teaches us to "practice the discipline of gratitude every day." She also said that "Isiah says where there is no vision the people perish. I would only slightly amend that. Where there is a bad vision the people may also perish."

3:12 p.m.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is throwing his support to Gov. John Kasich in the presidential contest, saying Kasich is an "action hero" in his own right.

Schwarzenegger says Kasich "kicked some serious butt" during his 18 years in Washington, when he helped balance the federal budget, and he says Kasich is keeping the American Dream alive in Ohio. Kasich said electing him would send the message that "raising the bar for your kids will win in this country."

The former California governor is donning an official Kasich campaign jacket, while Kasich is wearing a coat gifted to him from the Terminator star with "Governator II" embroidered on it. Kasich jokes that he has "dreams of grandeur" when wearing the jacket.

Sunday's rally in Ohio is Kasich's first in his home state this year. He is pinning everything on a win in the state's March 15 primary, when 66 delegates are at stake.

Speaking outside a barn, Kasich is sharing his message that restoring the "spirit of America" requires ordinary citizens to do their part.

Schwarzenegger, the former California governor, is taking over for Kasich's rival Donald Trump on the 'Celebrity Apprentice' this year.

2:33 p.m.

Donald Trump is insisting he is popular among Hispanics, a potentially significant factor in the Florida primary later this month.

Trump is at his Trump National course in Doral, Florida for the final round of the Cadillac Championship. He says he has 1,400 employees there, about 70 percent of whom he described as Hispanic.

Comments Trump made earlier in his campaign about Mexican immigrants led to swift fallout in the golf world, with the PGA of America last year canceling its Grand Slam of Golf at Trump's course in Los Angeles.

Trump says that his employees at Doral get "good salaries, I take care of education, health care, a lot of the things that people don't have."

He again said that Florida Sen. Marco Rubio should drop out of the race for the Republican nomination after winning no state contests Saturday night.

1:25 p.m.

Hillary Clinton spent Sunday morning visiting African-American churches in Detroit, promising to "make America whole."

While she did not directly name Republican front runner Donald Trump, Clinton alluded to his catchphrase to "make America great again."

Speaking at the Russell Street Missionary Baptist Church, Clinton says: "America never stopped being great. We have to work to make America whole." It was one of three church visits she made Sunday to encourage voters to cast ballots in Michigan's primary on Tuesday.

Flint, Michigan, is suffering a contaminated water crisis, and Clinton said she had asked that Sunday night's debate be held in that city.

Clinton says: "We want to continue to shine a bright spotlight on what happened in that community."

Taking a swipe at Michigan's Republican Gov. Rick Snyder's administration, Clinton said: "Your state government wanted to save money more than they wanted to help keep young kids' lives whole."

1:17 p.m.

Donald Trump has arrived at the Cadillac Championship, a World Golf Championships event being contested on his Trump National property in Doral, Florida.

The Republican presidential front-runner came in by helicopter. There's a helipad on the Blue Monster course, but Trump landed on a grassy patch behind some trees instead, presumably so he wouldn't interrupt tournament play.

Dressed in a blue blazer, white shirt and white cap, Trump shook a few hands when he got out of the chopper before taking the wheel of a golf cart and heading toward the Blue Monster.

Trump's plans for the day remain unclear. He has no formal media event scheduled. He presented the winner's trophy at the end of last year's tournament and is expected to do so again Sunday when the final round is complete around 6 p.m.

11 a.m.

A voting bloc of prison inmates could play a role in deciding who gets 23 Republican convention delegates from Puerto Rico.

About 6,000 prisoners were allowed to cast absentee ballots on Friday. And with only about 25,000 people expected to show up for Sunday's voting, they could make a difference.

On the U.S. mainland, only Vermont and Maine let inmates vote.

The large share of inmates is partly due to a sharp cutback in the number of general polling places this year, fallout from the island's budget crisis. There are only 110 across the territory, down from 3,226 four years ago, when Mitt Romney swept the delegate table.

The only other people allowed to submit absentee ballots in the territory are members of the military, but party officials said they did not yet know how many of those had been cast.

11 a.m.

A loyalty test for Democrats?

The party's latest presidential debate is set for Sunday night at 8 p.m. in Flint, Michigan, and it runs two hours. That's going to conflict with the 9 p.m. start time of the final episode of public television's "Downton Abbey."

Voters have their choice of presidential candidates — and the choice of deciding which broadcast to watch live and which to record.

10:10 a.m.

The delegate numbers are stacked against Bernie Sanders, but the Vermont senator isn't lacking for confidence in the Democratic presidential race.

Sanders is coming off victories Saturday in Kansas and Nebraska and looking for more in the coming weeks.

He tells ABC's "This Week" on Sunday that "geographically, we are looking good" and that he sees "a path toward victory."

The delegate totals tell a different story.

When you include superdelegates, those party insiders who can choose any candidate, Hillary Clinton now has at least 1,121 delegates, compared with at least 481 for Sanders. It takes 2,383 delegates to win the nomination.

Sanders says: "We're still fairly early in the process."

Sanders and Clinton are debating Sunday night in Flint, Michigan.

10 a.m.

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus says talk of a brokered convention is premature.

"There's over 1650 delegates, I think, to go.... That's a long way to go, so I think this is premature and we'll wait and see what happens."

But Priebus said if a candidate has the 1,237 delegates needed, "they're going to be the nominee."

He says he's "not going to do anything to prevent someone from getting 1237" but he's "also not going to do things that makes sure somebody gets 1237."

He tells ABC's "This Week" that that's up to the delegates and primary voters.

9:56 a.m.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton says it's "absolutely" good news that a former aide has been granted immunity in the FBI probe of her private email server.

She tells CBS' "Face the Nation" that staffer Bryan Pagliano is cooperating and that means "we're getting closer and closer to wrapping this up."

The Washington Post reported Wednesday that the Justice Department has granted immunity to Pagliano so that he would be willing to speak with investigators.

A year ago, The Associated Press reported the Justice Department's discovery of Clinton's private email server, which she ran in the basement of her home in Chappaqua, New York, to use exclusively for her work-related emails while she was secretary of state.

The FBI for months has investigated whether sensitive information that flowed through Clinton's email server was mishandled. The State Department has acknowledged that some emails included classified information, including at the top-secret level, though Clinton has said she never sent or received anything that was marked classified at the time.

9:46 a.m.

A onetime Republican presidential hopeful who hasn't always had kind words for Ted Cruz says it's clear that the Texas senator has emerged as the best chance to derail Donald Trump's path to the nomination.

Lindsey Graham says Cruz "has made the best case thus far that he can be the alternative to Trump."

The South Carolina senator tells NBC's "Meet that Press" that the GOP should unite before Ohio and Florida vote on March 15 and make sure the party has a candidate who can beat Trump in those states and afterward.

He says that candidate seems to be Cruz right now.

9:18 a.m.

In case there was any doubt, Mitt Romney says he "can't imagine" endorsing Donald Trump as the Republican presidential nominee.

The 2012 GOP presidential candidate says Trump, "is not a Republican in any sense of the word" and has "taken this campaign into a very deep gutter."

Romney spoke to CNN's "State of the Union" in an interview broadcast Sunday.

The former Massachusetts governor's comments came after strongly criticizing Trump in a speech Thursday at the University of Utah as dangerous and phony. Trump that night had a difficult debate in which he made a crude sexual joke and was the target of multiple attacks from rivals Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio.

Romney says he's not endorsing any candidate now, but might after March 15 when voters in some candidates' delegate-rich home states go to the polls. Rubio, who is from Florida, and Ohio Gov. John Kasich have said they'll stay in the race at least through that days' votes.

9:05 a.m.

A look at the delegate race in the 2016 presidential race.

On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton's substantial margin of victory in Louisiana withstood Bernie Sanders' wins in Kansas and Nebraska.

When you include superdelegates — party insiders who can choose any candidate — Clinton now has at least 1,121 delegates, compared with at least 481 for Sanders. It takes 2,383 delegates to win the nomination.

For Republicans, Ted Cruz is making a small dent in Donald Trump's delegate lead after Saturday's contests.

Trump has 378 delegates and Cruz has 295. Marco Rubio has 123 delegates and John Kasich has 34. It takes 1,237 delegates to win the Republican nomination for president.

Two more contests Sunday: Puerto Rico's Republican primary and Maine's Democratic caucuses.

8:35 a.m.

What are the presidential candidates up to on Sunday?

The Republicans will be watching for results from the primary in Puerto Rico. The Democrats are holding a prime-time debate in Flint, Michigan, and keeping an eye on Maine's caucuses.

On the GOP side, Ohio Gov. John Kasich is set to campaign in Columbus with former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and then hold an evening event in Toledo. Ohio votes on March 15 and it's a state that Kasich says he has to win.

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio has events in Idaho — rallies in Idaho Falls and Boise — ahead of the state's primary on Tuesday.

Look for Democrats Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton on television at their debate at 9 p.m. The Michigan primary is Tuesday.

8:25 a.m.

Front-runner Donald Trump is stepping up the pressure on Republican presidential rival Marco Rubio to quit the race.

Trump triumphed in Louisiana and Kentucky on Saturday and is retaining his delegate lead in the chase for the nomination.

Rubio was shut out in Saturday's contests and is setting his sights on winning his home state of Florida, which holds its primary on March 15.

The GOP campaign tally so far: 12 wins for Trump; six for Cruz and one for Rubio.

Trump is saying "Marco has to get out of the race. Has to" and that the Florida senator had "a very, very bad night."

Rubio's campaign is rejecting Trump's call and pledging to continue attacking Trump's business record and conservative credentials.

7:50 a.m.

The busy weekend in the 2016 presidential race continues with two more contests Sunday and a Democratic debate.

Republicans in Puerto Rico are voting in the party primary. Democrats in Maine are holding their caucuses. And Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are taking the debate stage on Sunday night in Flint, Michigan.

Saturday's results: Wins for Republican front-runner Donald Trump in Louisiana and Kentucky, and for rival Ted Cruz in Maine and Kansas. Marco Rubio was shut out and is pinning his hopes on winning his home state of Florida on March 15.

Sanders took Kansas and Nebraska, and Clinton prevailed in Louisiana.

There was no serious erosion in the delegate lead for either Trump or Clinton.