Sen. Bernie Sanders rallied supporters of the Democratic presidential ticket during an event in Traverse City over the weekend.
Sanders stood in front of purple lighting on the stage at Milliken Auditorium in Traverse City speaking to voters in this purple state about domestic issues, including raising the minimum wage, breaking up monopolies in business and finance and protecting reproductive rights.
He spoke about the high cost of healthcare in America, at one point, asking people to name their insurance deductibles.
One person in the crowd said she worked in healthcare and her deductible — the amount she pays before certain services are covered by insurance — is $12,000.
The 2024 campaign in northern Michigan
In late September, Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance spoke in Traverse City. Read that coverage.
Democratic vice presidential candidate Gov. Tim Walz did his debate prep in northern Michigan.
Sanders called that “disgraceful” and said it’s time to move to a single-payer healthcare system.
“The president and the vice president have been supportive,” he said. “We are right now telling these greedy drug companies that we’re no longer going to pay the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs. Lower your prices.”
He also promoted Harris’s plan to make the COVID-era child tax credit permanent … and to build 3 million units of housing.
The event included an overflow room for people to see the event. That’s where Olivia Akerly sat before the start of Sanders’s remarks.
She said she wanted to call attention to concerns about the U.S. role in conflicts in the Middle East, including the war in Gaza.
“I’m a registered Democrat but I’m trying to really encourage those who are Democrats to challenge their own party because we can always all do better,” she told IPR News.
Winning over voters upset about Middle East policy will be important to the Harris campaign, especially in Michigan — a crucial swing state where many have family ties to the region and are personally affected by the conflict.
Sanders has been an outspoken critic of Israel's operations in Gaza. In an interview with IPR before the event, he pointed the finger at Republicans who, he says, want more aid for Israel and oppose more aid for Gaza.
"I'm not here to tell you that the Democrats by any means are doing all that they should," he said, "but Republicans on this issue are much, much worse."
Sanders was introduced by state Rep. Betsy Coffia, a Democrat who flipped the 103rd House District from red to blue by fewer than 1,000 votes, and whose own re-election bid will play a significant role in the balance of power in Michigan’s legislature.
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But when Sanders campaigned in Michigan last weekend with United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain, a spokesperson for Trump’s statewide campaign said in a statement to WCMU that Sanders, Fain and Harris are an “unrelatable trio” to Michigan voters.
