As Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders aggressively court black leaders ahead of primary contests in South Carolina and other Southern states, the number-two Democrat in the Georgia state Senate flipped his endorsement from Clinton to Sanders Tuesday.
The two Democratic presidential candidates are holding dueling events throughout the day Tuesday, with Clinton meeting with black leaders in New York City ahead of a major speech on race there while Sanders attended a prayer breakfast with black ministers in South Carolina before a visit to Morehouse, a historically black college in Atlanta.
Both campaigns have been rolling out numerous endorsements from African-Americans leaders and activists in recent days. While Clinton has the clear edge in black endorsements, including the support of the campaign arm of the Congressional Black Caucus, Sanders has picked up some notable activist backers, like the daughter of Eric Garner, the black man killed by police on Staten Island last year while selling cigarettes.
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President of the National Action Network and MSNBC host Rev. Al Sharpton, whom Clinton met with Tuesday morning, told reporters he is not planning to endorse either candidate at the moment.
Meanwhile, Sanders earned the support of Georgia State Sen. Vincent Fort, who held an event for Clinton just a few weeks ago. “After months of looking at Bernie’s record and studying his positions on healthcare, Wall Street, predatory lending and the minimum wage, I came to the conclusion that Bernie’s position on the issues that affect my constituents in Georgia the most conform most closely to my positions,” Fort told The Atlanta Journal Constitution.








