Sanders campaigns for Clinton

Democrats hope Sanders can shore up Clinton with young voters

Craig Gilbert, and Karen Herzog
Published 5:01 pm CT Oct 4, 2016 | Updated 12:01 p.m. CT Oct 5, 2016

Four years ago, President Barack Obama won 60% of voters under the age of 30 in Wisconsin — making them a key pillar of his winning Democratic coalition.

Hillary Clinton isn’t doing remotely that well in 2016, a shortfall that could haunt her in a close race.

When former Democratic rival Bernie Sanders visits Madison and Green Bay on Wednesday, a key mission will be shoring up Clinton’s tepid support among young voters.

The Democratic nominee has been drawing only about a third (34%) of registered voters under 30 in the past four statewide polls by the Marquette University Law School, followed by Republican Trump at 23%, Libertarian Gary Johnson at 18%, Green Party candidate Jill Stein at 8% and 16% undecided.

"I think this election is an embarrassing display," said Jacob Gardner, a University of Wisconsin-Madison sophomore from Beaver Dam who supported Sanders in the Democratic primary.

"We have the two most disliked people in politics running against each other and both of the major parties are facing divisions and instability," said Gardner, who plans to vote for Clinton in order to defeat Trump. But he said: "I will not volunteer for her campaign, after all the denigrating things she said about young Bernie supporters."

No age group is more fragmented in this presidential race than those 18 to 29.

No age group has a more negative view of the two major nominees.

No age group is more attracted to third-party candidates.

And no age group has more undecided voters.

Clinton is “winning younger voters, but not by the margins Obama did in 2012 and 2008,” says Jeff Horwitt, a Democratic pollster with Hart Research in Washington, D.C.

“It’s not as if they’re voting for Trump. But will they end up showing up at the level she needs them to in these swing states?”

Sanders is an obvious advocate for Clinton to turn to. The Vermont senator beat Clinton by an astounding 64 points among voters age 18 to 29 on his way to a double-digit victory in Wisconsin’s April Democratic primary, according to exit polling.

“I think it is undeniable that Bernie Sanders is going to help Hillary Clinton in Wisconsin and other states” where millennials were a big part of his coalition, said Peter Rickman, who was the leader of the Sanders delegation from Wisconsin at the Democratic Convention this past summer.

Rickman said the most effective argument to Sanders supporters is not that they should fall “in line,” but that voting for Clinton is the best way to advance the Sanders agenda — and that “not voting for president isn’t an act of political rebellion, it’s an act of political surrender.”

But Burden, the political scientist, said it was implausible to expect Clinton to match both the massive margins and sky-high turnout Obama achieved among young voters in his two victories.

“That combination is just not going to be repeated in 2016,” said Burden.

Clinton’s weakness with young voters would be an even bigger problem for her in Wisconsin were it not for two mitigating factors.

One is that Trump is even more unpopular than Clinton among young voters, who are easily Trump’s worst age group. The GOP nominee is viewed unfavorably by 69% of voters under 30 in Wisconsin — and by 79% of women under 30.

The other factor is that Clinton appears to be performing better with older voters in Wisconsin than she is nationally, and that is helping to compensate for her weakness with millennials in this state.

Obama lost voters 65 and over to Mitt Romney in Wisconsin four years ago.

But in Marquette’s recent polling, Clinton’s single best age group is voters between 60 and 69. These voters have little interest in Johnson or Stein, and favor Clinton by 16 points over Trump. Clinton is also winning voters 70 and over in Wisconsin.

She may need to keep that up if young voters remain as cool to Clinton as they have been throughout this election.

"I hate voting for the lesser of two evils, but it seems to be my only choice," said Zach Druckrey, a UW-Madison senior from Eau Claire who plans to cast a reluctant vote for Clinton next month. Druckrey is a leader for Our Revolution UW Madison, formerly Badgers for Bernie (he said he was speaking for himself, not his group).

"Character is very important to me, which is why making myself excited to vote in this election is very difficult, as I don't really like any of the candidates, Democrat, Republican, or otherwise,” he said.

Stumping for Hillary Clinton in Phoenix, Bernie Sanders Says the Political Revolution Is Still Alive

Bernie Sanders stumped for Hillary Clinton in Phoenix on Sunday afternoon, two days before the 2016 presidential election.

By Miriam Wasser  November 6, 2016

At least 1,100 very enthusiastic people packed into the small, overheated gymnasium at Central High School in Phoenix on Sunday to hear Bernie Sanders speak. It has been a few months since Sanders last visited, and the excitement in the room was on full display – from "Bernie 2016" shirts and pins to chants of "Bernie! Bernie!" and enthusiastic renditions of the wave.

After opening remarks by state representative Juan Mendez, county recorder nominee Adrian Fontes, and State Senator Martín Quezada — local politicians who endorsed Sanders early on — the Vermont senator took the stage. Standing at a podium in front of a giant Clinton-Kaine banner, he delivered what can best be described as his campaign's greatest hits.

For an hour, Sanders gesticulated wildly and meandered from Citizens United to immigration reform to universal health care to sustainable energy to criminal-justice reform to civil rights. He recycled some of his popular buzzwords and hit on many of the progressive ideas that lured millions of voters across the nation to the polls to vote for him in the primaries: creating an economy that benefits the middle and working classes; adjusting the "totally insane" interest rates on student debt; raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour; and starting a "political revolution."

The pundits like to portray elections as being about personality and popularity, Sanders said, but this isn't high school.

"This election is not about Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, it's not about Bill Clinton or Mrs. Trump, it's about you and the working families of this country."

The crowd erupted into applause.

"I love you, Bernie!" screamed a woman near the front of the gym. For an audience that was a fraction of the size of the crowds Sanders used to pull when he visited Arizona during the primary season, Sunday's attendees were surprisingly loud. Space was limited, and about 200 people listened from outside the building.

They cheered when he said Clinton was the candidate who'd bring the country together and that she'd pass comprehensive immigration reform. And they booed when he spoke about Donald Trump's promise to revoke the Affordable Care Act, his federal-tax avoidance, and his belief that climate change is a hoax created by the Chinese.

On this last point, Sanders called Trump's stance "another profound difference" between the two candidates and joked that Clinton's belief in science makes her a radical in government.

Overall, Sanders' speech was fiery yet optimistic. At multiple points, he painted Tuesday's election as a critical moment in American history and a choice between two very different paths forward.

"I find it incomprehensible that in the year 2016, after all of those struggles, we have a Republican candidate who — the cornerstone of his campaign is bigotry," he said to applause. "Not only should we defeat Trump," he said a little later, "but '¡Bazta Arpaio!' as well." More cheers.

The audience, which included people of all ages and races, seemed to be largely Bernie fans-turned-Clinton supporters. Many wore "Bernie" T-shirts with an "I'm with Her" pin, or vice versa.

"We've been Bernie supporters for a long time," audience member Jose Gruner told New Times. "I wanted him first, but it is what it is. Bernie is a good man and Hillary is a good woman."

Others seemed less enthusiastic about the Democratic nominee. "We were with Bernie from the very beginning and now we're voting for Hillary," a woman said as the man beside her nodded. "We're going to keep our eye on her," she added. Even if some in the audience were reluctant Clinton supporters, one statement toward the end of Sanders' speech brought the crowd to its feet.

"Apparently, if you're a billionaire in this country, you don't have to pay taxes. But I say to you, Mr. Trump, 'We've got some bad news for you,'" Sanders said. "'The first bad news is that you're going to lose on Tuesday, you're going to lose here in Arizona. And the second bad news is that you and your billionaire friends are going to start paying their fair share.'"

Added Sanders: "Change never takes place from the top on down, always from the bottom on up. Change happens when ordinary people look around and say the status quo is not right."

Sanders then began waiving a printout of the 2016 Democratic platform.

"You helped write this!" he said. "Our immediate task in the next two days is to get as many people out to vote. [But] the day after the election, we need your help to make sure this party platform becomes reality. We need your help to make sure we transform this country into the nation we know it can be."

Bernie Sanders, Donald Trump Jr. Visiting West Michigan Wednesday

Janna | Published November 2, 2016

As the presidential election nears, campaigners continue to make stops in West Michigan.

Following Donald Trump's appearance at the Delta Plex on Monday, his son, Donald Trump Jr. will be speaking at Grand Valley State University Wednesday. Bernie Sanders is also campaigning for Hillary Clinton in Kalamazoo on Wednesday.

WZZM-13 reports that Sanders will speak at Miller Auditorium at noon, with doors opening at 11a.m. Those wishing to attend can RSVP here.

Sanders will then speak at a rally in Traverse City at 3:15p.m.

Donald Trump Jr. will visit a rally at GVSU's Allendale campus in the Grand River Room of the Kirkhof Center. Doors open at 2:30p.m. and the event begins at 3:30p.m.

Students and the public are welcome. Those wishing to attend can RSVP here.

Oct 2016

This section of the Speech Archive serves as a “table of contents” for all the speeches, interviews, and campaign events posted on this website in Oct 2016. Choose an event from the list below to view details of the speech. (Note: If an event is not hyperlinked, we do not currently have information about it.)