Sanders Campaign Announces “Bernie Beats Trump” Tour in Iowa Next Week
Visiting half a dozen counties that flipped from Obama to Trump in 2016, Sanders will lay out an agenda to win back Iowa, defeat Trump and deliver fundamental change
DES MOINES, Iowa – Sen. Bernie Sanders next week will hold a “Bernie Beats Trump” Tour of Iowa, visiting half a dozen counties that flipped for Donald Trump in 2016 after going for Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012. Democrats must win these counties in 2020 to win Iowa and win the general election, and Sanders is well positioned to achieve that goal.
“Bernie Sanders is going to defeat Donald Trump because, unlike the president, he will take on the greed and corruption of the world’s biggest corporations,” said Bernie 2020 Iowa State Director Misty Rebik. “In 2016, Donald Trump promised he would stand with the Iowa’s working class, but he’s a fraud and a liar, and we’re going to show that at every stop on this tour.”
On the tour, Sanders will outline a health care and economic policy agenda that will energize and mobilize millions of voters to defeat Donald Trump and deliver fundamental change. The “Bernie Beats Trump” Tour will include events focused on Medicare for All, eliminating medical debt, reinvesting in public education, strengthening unions and standing in solidarity with America’s Latinx community.
Sanders defeats Donald Trump in 20 of the last 20 national polls, and virtually every poll conducted since 2016. In statewide general election matchups, Sanders continues to poll ahead of Trump in Iowa, as well as in the key swing states of Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Florida and Texas, totaling 134 electoral votes.
Sanders’ agenda also continues to poll strongly with general election voters. Multiple polls show Medicare for All and the Green New Deal are supported by a strong majority of Americans. Polls on Medicare for All from RealClear Opinion Research, Morning Consult, YouGov, Business Insider and Tulchin Research show that majorities want Medicare for All to replace for-profit private insurance.
In addition to polling, Sanders has a distinct fundraising advantage in the Democratic field. Sanders is the only candidate with more overall donations than Donald Trump. That fundraising lead is seen in Obama-Trump counties as well: Out of all counties nationwide that went for Obama in 2012 and Trump in 2016, Sanders has received more than 81,000 donations -- which is three times the next candidate and more than the next three candidates combined. In all, more than one-in-three total Democratic donors in America’s Obama-Trump counties are Sanders donors, and Sanders has the most Democratic donations in 87 percent of all counties that flipped between the 44th and 45th president. With 31 Obama-Trump counties, Iowa is home to the most flip counties in the country.
