Hillary Clinton batted away a question about whether she would drop out of the presidential race if indicted over the handling of her email as she and Bernie Sanders opened their latest debate Wednesday by both proclaiming they had a strong pathway to the Democratic nomination.

Univision's Jorge Ramos hit Clinton with a blunt question in the debate's opening moments, asking: "If you're indicted, will you drop out?

"Oh for goodness, that is not going to happen," Clinton declared. "I'm not even going to answer that question."

The FBI is investigation the possibility of mishandling of sensitive information that passed through Clinton's private email server while she was secretary of state.

Sanders, as he has in the past, declined to bite on the issue, saying, "The process will take its course." He said he'd rather talk about the issues of wealth and income inequality.

Clinton has won 762 pledged delegates compared to 549 for Sanders, with 10 delegates from recent primaries still to be allocated. When superdelegates are included, Clinton leads 1,223 to 574, more than halfway to the 2,383 needed to win the Democratic nomination.

On the Republican side Wednesday, billionaire businessman Donald Trump called for Republicans to rally behind his candidacy after he won primaries in three more states, declaring that he could not be defeated in the November general election as the standard-bearer of a united party.

The two Democrats laid out rival paths to the nomination, Clinton stressing that she has a strong lead in the delegates. She declared, "This is a marathon, and it is a marathon that can only be carried by the kind of campaign I am running."

Sanders, for his part, said he'd come a long way from the early days when his campaign was largely written off. He called his upset victory in Michigan on Tuesday evidence that his message is resonating.

"We are going to continue to do extremely well," he said, adding that he expects to convince superdelegates who are backing Clinton to switch to his column.

With Florida offering the biggest prize in next Tuesday's round of voting, the two candidates quickly exchanged attacks over who's been a true advocate for Latinos and who's been a friend only out of political convenience.

Clinton faulted Sanders for repeatedly voting against a 2007 comprehensive immigration reform bill; he faulted her for opposing a 2007 effort to allow people who were in the country illegally to obtain driver's licenses.

The candidates squared off soon after a testy debate in Michigan on Sunday in which they argued about trade and economic issues of particular interest in the industrial Midwest. This time, immigration and other matters of special concern to the Latino community loomed large. Florida is home to nearly 1.8 million Hispanics, including about 15 percent of the state's Democrats.

The candidates also are focusing on a broader audience, with Missouri, Illinois, Ohio and North Carolina also in Tuesday's primary lineup, and a total of 691 delegates at stake.

A good share of Florida voters already have locked in their decisions: nearly 487,000 Democrats have cast early ballots, representing about 11 percent of registered Democrats.

Hispanic voters have made up about 10 percent of voters in the Democratic primaries so far this year, and Clinton has been getting about two-thirds of their votes to about one-third for Sanders. The Vermont senator, for his part, stresses that he's making progress on winning over younger Hispanics.

___

Benac reported from Washington. AP Writers Sergio Bustos and Ken Thomas in Miami, and Hope Yen in Washington contributed to this report.

___

Follow Nancy Benac on Twitter at http://twitter.com/nbenac (**)

Popular

Jakarta's minimum wage bump faces disappointed laborers

Profound budget policy changes failed to lift growth in 2025

Yearender: Police reform met with doubt amid persistent brutality, impunity