Sanders sees the way to beat Trump in Rust Belt

Sen. Bernie SandersBernard (Bernie) Sanders2020 Dems defend Omar against Trump Biden's critics, Warren and Sanders express their support for Stop & Shop strike workers Two dozen Dem senators ask Trump to extend his nuclear treaty with Russia MORE(I-Vt.) Play for white-collar working-class voters who helped to elect President TrumpDonald John TrumpJudicial Courts Order Trump Administration Continues Temporarily to Return Asylum Seekers to Mexico Federal Investigation Reveals Generalized Sexual Harassment in Trump Company-Led Company: Booker Report Trump would apparently have forgiven a border official: "This should shake all Americans" in 2016, it's hard to miss.

The Vermont senator and presidential candidate embarked Friday for a four-day campaign in the Rust Belt that will take him to states where Hillary ClintonHillary Diane Rodham ClintonBiden, Warren and Sanders express their support for workers on strike at Stop & Shop Hillicon Valley: Trump unveils initiatives to boost 5G | What you need to know about the Assange case | Pelosi warns technology against the "new era" in regulation | Online hate speech bill in Iowa Dem in Trump District will not seek re-election in 2020 MORE failed in 2016.

He listened to the progressive proposals that have shaped much of his political career – Medicare for All, a minimum wage of $ 15, and a national ban on so-called "right to work" laws – while adopting a more cautious line. material filing classification, immigration and get rid of the obstruction of the Senate.

And on Monday, he is expected to participate in an event organized by Trump's news network, Fox News.

Sanders' aides and advisers are convinced that the self-proclaimed democratic socialist is the best candidate to convince working-class voters in 2020, saying his populist message and insurgent style will result in gains in States carried by Trump.

His campaign is intersectional, say his aides and advisers, transcending racial and ethnic boundaries and using a large sample of American passes.

But they also say that his fundamental message – that decades of unbalanced trade deals and special interests in Washington weigh heavily on the country's working class – is of particular interest to many voters who elected Trump to the White House, particularly those from Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

"They now realize that they have been cheated and that they have more confidence than those who talk about their entire career," said Chuck Rocha, senior advisor to Sanders.

Norman Solomon, coordinator of an informal group of Sanders delegates called the network of Bernie delegates, said that Sanders was positioning himself to "win the votes of people who voted for Obama in 2008 and 2012," but vote for Trump in 2016.

"What is troubling is that they were driven out by the corporatist politics that prevailed during the Obama years and that Hillary Clinton represented," Solomon said.

Sanders staged a rally in Madison, Wisconsin on Friday, the first leg of a four-day trek across Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Sending to his supporters, the Vermont senator brought home a central argument for his candidacy for the White House: Trump had misled working-class voters by promising them a hollow election campaign.

"The biggest lie is when he said that he would stand with the working class of our country, that he was on their side and that he would defend powerful special interests to protect working families. Sanders said. "What a monstrous lie it was."

Sanders already has a history of electoral success in some of these states, having notably won primary victories in Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana and West Virginia in 2016.

He also nearly defeated Clinton in Iowa, who holds the first presidential caucus within the nation.

The Vermont Senator's attention to the Upper Midwest so early in the primary 2020 process provides insight into his overall election strategy.

None of the states visited by the senator over the weekend held his nomination votes at the beginning of the cycle.

However, Sanders' team considers Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania to be more crucial to their campaign than any other battlefield.

"It's a very strong argument," said an assistant Sanders. "Basically, we say you can not reach 270 without Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania."

Sanders campaign manager Faiz Shakir outlined the strategy in a memo last week, stressing that transporting these three states while losing to other battlefields, such as Florida and Ohio, would still enough for Sanders to win the White House.

"Democrats could still lose all the traditional battlefield states, Florida and Ohio, the growing states of Texas and Arizona, and the new competitive states of southern North Carolina and Georgia – and win the White House victory in 2020 with the victory of Bernie Sanders. Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, "writes Shakir.

Other candidates are also trying to woo the working class.

Former representative Beto O'Rourke (D-Texas), for example, launched his presidential bid last month with a road trip through Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

And Friday, Sen. Elizabeth WarrenElizabeth Ann Warren2020 Dems defend Omar against Trump Biden's critics, Warren and Sanders express their support for workers striking Stop & Shop workers Georgetown students vote overwhelmingly to approve payment of compensation for slavery MORE (D-Mass.) Joined striking workers at Stop & Shop supermarkets on the picket line in his home country.

One of the last candidates to join the Democratic primary field, Rep. Tim RyanTimothy (Tim) John Ryan2020 Dems Condemn Transgender Military Policy of the Government Trump Dems Proposes Bill Requiring the IRS to Create a Free Online Tax Filing Service The Hill & # 39; s Morning Report – L & # 39: Trump cleaning agency for border security MORE (D-Ohio), launched his campaign by telling of decades of plant closures and job losses in his home country.

The campaign's efforts reflect a broader feeling in democratic politics that Clinton's inability to spend more time in the Upper Midwest contributed to the destruction of the party's so-called "Blue Wall", eventually giving way Blanche in Trump.

Perhaps the most formidable opponent of Sanders in his attempt to elect working-class voters is the former vice-president Joe BidenJoseph (Joe) BidenBiden Robinette, Warren and Sanders Express Their Support For Workers On Strike Buttigieg Buttigieg says that the government is going through a "kind of crisis" since the arrival of Trump. GOP senator warns Republicans about health care MORE, a former Delaware senator who has been nicknamed "middle class hangman" over a career of more than 40 years in Washington.

A Monmouth University poll on supporters of the Democratic Caucus of Iowa, released Thursday, showed that Biden was leading the pack of 2020 candidates among voters earning less than $ 50,000 per year. year, as well as those without a university degree.

At the same time, Biden, who has not yet announced his candidacy for president, has close ties with the labor movement, which has been developed over a nearly 50-year career in the public service. , who could potentially offer influential sponsorships he should get into the race for the presidency.

But Sanders' allies argue that his past successes in the Upper Midwest and his leading role in tabling proposals such as Medicare for All and the introduction of a $ 15 minimum wage in the political mainstream give him unrivaled credibility among working-class voters.

"As we saw in 2016, Senator Sanders is extremely popular in the Upper Midwest," said Jeff Weaver, Campaign Manager for Sanders' 2016 Bid and Current Senior Advisor.

"And you saw that in 2018 when the Upper Midwest candidates were keen for him to campaign with them mid-way."

At the same time, Sanders has been more cautious than some of his key opponents in addressing some liberal proposals, fearing that the adoption of a tough stance on issues such as court costs repairs for the descendants of slaves can not isolate more voters in the independent mind.

In an interview with HuffPost this week, Sanders said that he did not want to remove the filibuster, as candidates like Warren and South Bend, Mayor of the Ind. Pete ButtigiegPeter (Pete) Paul ButtigiegButtigieg about Pence: "I do not criticize his faith, I criticize my bad policies". 2020 Dems condemns the transgender military policy of the Trump government. An editor says that there is less cohesion than left on the religious. right PLUS have suggested.

At a recent public meeting in Iowa, Sanders rejected the idea that he supported open borders and advocated a "comprehensive immigration reform" instead.

And at an event in Washington earlier this month, he voiced concerns over a plan to increase the number of Supreme Court justices – a proposal backed by some liberal activists and hopes for 2020 – warning that if the Democrats took such a step, there would be nothing to stop the Republicans from doing the same in the future.

An assistant from Sanders said the campaign was more focused on more table problems, such as health care, an issue that helped propel Democrats to a majority in the House in the 2018 midterm elections. and which is consistently among the main problems of voters.

"We want to set the tone and we want to win those places with an economic and health message," said the assistant. "Bernie talks about these issues like no one does on the ground."

Rocha, Sanders' senior advisor, said that these issues are ultimately of interest to working-class voters.

"The message we are hearing all the time is worrying about losing their job, losing their health care or how they can even get health care," said Rocha. "Bernie Sanders has been a consistent leader for generations and we think it's the magic way to win."