FAIRFAX, Va. — Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard is making her way across the Commonwealth of Virginia ahead of Super Tuesday elections on March 3.
On Tuesday, the Gabbard team hosted the second of two town halls in Fairfax -- a way for Gabbard to get one-on-one time with potential voters. Gabbard said that her first town hall reached capacity, in which she and her team wanted to speak to as many participants as possible before heading to Richmond.
While Gabbard didn’t qualify for the Democratic party’s last and upcoming presidential debates, the DNC recently announced candidate and billionaire Michael Bloomberg is eligible to participate for the first time.
"I would rather be on the debate stage, but the DNC has continued to change their rules holding their own pre-primary selection process, apparently sending the message to voters that they would rather hear from a billionaire than the only person of color left in this race," Gabbard said at the town hall.
Back in January, Gabbard filed a defamation lawsuit against Hillary Clinton for her remarks implying Gabbard was a "favorite of the Russians." The lawsuit seeks $50 million in damages.
Clinton made the comments during an October recording of the podcast "Campaign HQ" with David Plouffe. She did not identify the candidate she was referring to, but said she thought Republicans were "grooming" a Democratic presidential bid and described the candidate as a "favorite of the Russians."
The lawsuit, obtained by various news outlets, seeks to hold Clinton and other "political elites" accountable for "distorting the truth in the middle of a critical Presidential election." It was also stated that the lawsuit would prove that Gabbard suffered an economic loss due to the comments.
"Tulsi Gabbard is a loyal American civil servant who has also dedicated her life to protecting the safety of all Americans," Gabbard’s lawyer, Brian Dunne, said in a statement. "Rep. Gabbard’s presidential campaign continues to gain momentum, but she has seen her political and personal reputation smeared and her candidacy intentionally damaged by Clinton’s malicious and demonstrably false remarks."