Bernie Sanders' Final Pre-Caucus Pitch Draws Crowd To Seattle Stadium

Bernie Sanders hit familiar themes in his ballpark appearance in Seattle Friday.

The presidential candidate spoke to thousands of people at his second Seattle appearance in less than a week. People lined up outside Safeco Field hours ahead of the rally.

Sanders touched on the pay gap between men and women, universal health care, and Wall Street bankers.

The Vermont senator is expected to do well Saturday in the Democrats' Washington state caucuses. But Hillary Clinton holds a big lead in delegates for the national convention.

In interviews outside Safeco, more than a dozen people pledged to stay engaged no matter who is nominated.

He also called drug abuse a health issue, not a criminal issue, a nod to Seattle's heroin and opioid abuse epidemic.

Sanders spoke in Portland earlier Friday. At that event, a small bird landed on the podium in front of Sanders, drawing a roar from the crowd.

The previous Sunday, Sanders appeared before a big crowd at KeyArena.

Clinton campaigned in the region earlier this week, with events in Seattle, Everett, Medina and Puyallup. Hear the full text of her speech in Everett here.

The spirited rivalry between the two candidates is expected to produce high turnout in Saturday's caucuses.

At stake are 101 delegates, but the final tally of how they will be divided may not be known until after the state-level caucus in June.