ATLANTA (WSAV) – Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who ran for president twice, says voters can’t sit this election out.
The self-described democratic socialist is urging all Georgians to get out and vote on two tight Senate races in a state that could flip.
“Georgia is obviously an important battleground state for president and two senate seats,” Sanders said in an exclusive interview with WSAV’s Atlanta Bureau.
“If the Democrats were to gain control, if we can win those to seats in Georgia, that would make it happen,” he said. “It is enormously important.”
President Donald Trump says turnout is strong because Americans are prospering, but Sanders argues voting records are being broken because people want change.
“I think the reason Georgia is undergoing transformation, there is growing dissatisfaction across the country,” the senator said.
The Trump campaign says their quick action prevented more coronavirus deaths, but Sanders disagrees and says the White House needs a better plan to manage the pandemic.
“We are dealing with a terrible pandemic,” Sander added. “You have a president who continues to say we are turning the corner, and we are not.”
And Sanders says that the Democrats are the ones equipped to handle the crisis.
“As a result of the pandemic, tens of millions have lost their jobs and want a government that will work for them, raise the minimum wage, expand health care and not throw 23 million of the health care they have,” Sanders said.
Georgia has not flipped blue since Bill Clinton’s presidency in 1992.
Sanders says winning Georgia’s two senate seats will allow Democrats to pass a COVID-19 relief package, but Republicans say they are ready and it’s the other side that is stalling.
The Vermont senator called the electoral college “problematic” because it brings the election down to just a handful of states. But both Republicans and Democrats agree that no matter which party you choose, to just get out and vote.
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