This U.S. House member will join Bernie Sanders at Nampa rally Monday
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders is set to speak in Nampa on Monday evening — and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat, will be joining him, according to a Wednesday news release.
The rally is a stop on what Sanders, I-Vermont, has dubbed a “Fighting Oligarchy” tour of contested and Republican-held districts. The tour is “making stops in areas where Democrats rarely campaign,” according to the release. Ocasio-Cortez is set to join for the “Western swing” of the tour, which will include stops in Salt Lake City, Missoula, Montana, and California.
“The American people, whether they are Democrats, Republicans or Independents, do not want billionaires to control our government or buy our elections,” Sanders said in the release. “They do not want huge tax breaks for the wealthiest people in the country paid for by massive cuts to Medicaid and other programs that working families rely on.”
A previous stop on Sanders’ tour set a record for the largest-ever political rally in Arizona; another stop drew nearly 35,000 people in Denver, according to the release.
Politico has dubbed the pair’s rallies as “nothing short of a revival” for Democrats in the face of Republicans’ “all-out control of the federal government.”
Sanders, 83, ran for president in 2016 and 2020. In the 2016 presidential primary, Sanders defeated Hillary Clinton by a large margin in Idaho’s Democratic caucus, the Idaho Statesman previously reported. The caucus saw an overwhelming turnout, which election officials credited in part to voters turning out for Sanders.
“I think it’s the ‘Sanders effect,’ ” Gail Chumbley, a caucus chairman, said at the time. “He has galvanized voters all over the country.”
The Sanders/AOC rally will take place at the Ford Idaho Center. Doors will open at 3:30 p.m. Monday, and the speaking program is set to begin at 6 p.m.
The event, which is free and open to the public, also will feature Boise-based rock band Built to Spill, according to Wednesday’s release.
Free parking will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Participants are asked not to bring bags, signs or firearms.
