Primary blog: Chelsea Clinton says 'woman's card' not needed

5:55 p.m. update: Stumping for her mother in Indianapolis on Friday, Chelsea Clinton called this year's presidential election the "most important" in her lifetime.

Clinton spoke to an audience of more than 200 Hillary Clinton supporters at the campaign's Indiana office, located at 7225 N. Keystone Ave.

Chelsea Clinton, who is several months pregnant with her second child, focused heavily on issues pertaining to motherhood and children, adding that since she became a parent she has considered elections a more personal and urgent matter.

"As proud as I am of my mom," Clinton said, "... this election is so intensely important to me because I think it is about my kids and their future."

Clinton commended her mother's stances on abortion and reproductive rights, as well as her platform supporting paid family and medical leave.

The former first daughter also repeatedly criticized Republican front-runner Donald Trump, who earlier this week accused Hillary Clinton of playing "the woman's card" during her run for president. At a campaign speech Tuesday, the real estate mogul said Clinton would receive a fraction of her current vote totals were she a man.

The Democratic front-runner's response garnered significant attention online. "If fighting for women's health care and paid family leave and equal pay is playing the 'woman card,'" Hillary Clinton said, "then deal me in."

Chelsea Clinton echoed her mother Friday, telling reporters, "I didn't think I needed a woman's card."

If she did, she said, "then I guess you can count me guilty as well."

Clinton also blasted what she called "hate speech" coming from the Republican primary, including Trump.

"I hope that those of us who feel, as I clearly do, quite strongly that he does not represent the values that I want my children to grow up in," Clinton told reporters Friday. "His policies are not the country that I want to see for my family. I will stand strongly against him."

1:10 p.m. update: U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders said Friday that the Democratic race in Indiana is tight, and he thinks he can pull off a win if voter turnout is high.

A win in the Hoosier state is important to securing the delegates necessary to narrow the lead of front-runner Hillary Clinton, Sanders said in an interview with IndyStar.

But a victory in Indiana also would send a message – a message Sanders argued that’s powered by anger over the “greed” of corporations, such as Carrier's plans to eliminate 1,400 jobs in Indianapolis and move them to Mexico.

“I think symbolically here you have a Midwest manufacturing state that has prepared to stand up and fight for a political revolution,” Sanders said.

In Indiana, polls show Sanders is in striking distance with Clinton holding onto as thin as a three-point lead. But while the Democratic race in Indiana is a toss-up, Clinton still holds a commanding delegate lead over Sanders and is widely expected to secure the Democratic nomination.

Asked if Indiana was make-or-break for his campaign’s future, Sanders said he’d been asked that question in every single state since the first contest in Iowa.

“We’re in this until California and beyond, and we think we got a shot here in Indiana,” he said.

Sanders, a Vermont senator, insisted Friday he’ll remain in the race through California. The state that Sanders called a “major prize” comes with a high-delegate haul and holds one of the last primaries before this summer’s national convention. Sanders acknowledged his campaign has laid off staffers but argued he’s competed in 80 percent of the states and that he’s “pretty well staffed up” in Indiana.

“Our job is to win here in Indiana…we are going to fight for every single vote that we can get,” Sanders said. “We have a narrow path for victory, and we’re going to try to seize it.”

Sanders spoke with IndyStar on Friday before heading to a rally at the Indiana Statehouse to protest Carrier’s decision to shutter its Indianapolis plant.

12:41 p.m. update: Gov. Mike Pence on Friday endorsed U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz for president, but also handed out some praise to challenger and front-runner Donald Trump.

"I see Ted Cruz as a principled conservative who has dedicated his career to advocating the Reagan agenda," Pence said shortly after noon on Greg Garrison's conservative talk radio show on 93-WIBC. "I'm very impressed with Ted Cruz's devotion and knowledge of the Constitution of the United States."

Pence said Cruz had his vote next Tuesday, and that he would be willing to campaign with the senator.

Pence also said of Trump's campaign: "I particularly want to commend Donald Trump who I think has given voice to the frustration of millions of Americans."

As Pence explained his rationale for supporting Cruz, hundreds gathered on the south side of the Indiana Statehouse for a union worker rally, where Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders and gubernatorial candidate John Gregg were scheduled to speak.

U.S. Sen. Sanders is expected to arrive at the rally around 1:30 p.m. Before his event, Sanders told IndyStar that "we think we got a shot here in Indiana," adding that polls show the race between him and front-runner Hillary Clinton is tight.

Gregg took the stage around 12:30 p.m. to chants of "Fire Mike Pence!"

"Amen to that," he responded.

Gregg spoke about air conditioning giant Carrier, which announced in February that it would relocate its manufacturing operations to Mexico, costing 1,400 jobs in Indianapolis over the next three years.

Gregg said Carrier didn't leave because of government regulations, but "because of greed."

The union representing Carrier workers endorsed Sanders for president earlier this month.

Earlier Friday: Carly Fiorina, the former Hewlett-Packard CEO who U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz tapped this week as his would-be running mate, on Friday attacked a controversial endorsement touted by Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump.

During a campaign rally in Indianapolis on Wednesday, Trump noted that he's supported by former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson. Tyson was convicted here of raping a beauty pageant contestant in 1992.

"Trump touted Mike Tyson and said 'all the tough guys are endorsing me,'" Fiorina told media during a campaign event at the Indiana War Memorial on Friday. "Sorry. I don't consider a convicted rapist a tough guy."

She later added: "And I think it says a lot about Donald Trump's campaign and his character that he is standing up and cheering for an endorsement by Mike Tyson."

Cruz and Fiorina are holding a rally in Downtown Indianapolis, followed by a town hall with Fox News host Sean Hannity.

While speaking with the media, Fiorina also urged Hoosiers to vote for Cruz instead of fellow Republican nominee Ohio Gov. John Kasich.

"Just to be clear, a vote for John Kasich is a vote for Donald Trump, because John Kasich has absolutely no path to the nomination, not now, not at a contested convention," Fiorina said. "John Kasich is throwing your vote away."

Earlier this week, Kasich agreed not to campaign in Indiana, and Cruz said he would pull out of New Mexico and Oregon. The partnership was seen as a way to block Trump from winning the Republican presidential nomination outright. Cruz later denied that the two had formed an alliance.

Cruz will pick up a coveted endorsement from Indiana Gov. Mike Pence this afternoon. A source confirmed to IndyStar that Pence will make the announcement shortly after noon on Greg Garrison's conservative talk radio show on 93-WIBC.

Asked this morning about a potential endorsement from Pence, Cruz said he did not know of the governor's plans, but said he will listen to Garrison's radio show. He also praised Pence's leadership.

This blog will be updated. 

IndyStar reporters Michael Anthony Adams and Brian Eason contributed to this story.

Call IndyStar reporter Jill DIsis at (317) 444-6137. Follow her on Twitter: @jdisis.

Call IndyStar reporter Stephanie Wang at (317) 444-6184. Follow her on Twitter: @stephaniewang.

Call IndyStar reporter Chelsea Schneider at (317) 444-6077. Follow her on Twitter: @IndyStarChelsea.