Bernie Sanders set to return to Story County
Caitlin Yamada/ Iowa State Daily
Sen. Bernie Sanders hosted a rally on Sept. 8 in Ames. He spoke on many aspects of his campaign, including the Medicare for All bill that he signed with 14 other senators.
December 4, 2019
On the homestretch before caucus night with less than two months to go, Sen. Bernie Sanders will attend the Organic Farmers Association’s and Iowa Organic Association’s 2019 Presidential Forum.
The forum is scheduled to be hosted at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Fairview Lodge in Story City, Iowa.
Throughout the presidential campaign, Sanders has been among the top-polling candidates. According to the RealClearPolitics polling average of likely Iowa Democratic caucusgoers, Sanders is in second place with 18.3 percent support, behind Mayor Pete Buttigieg with 24 percent support.
Nationally, Sanders is also in second place behind former Vice President Joe Biden, who made his own visit to Story County on Wednesday with a stop at Iowa State. Among likely Democratic primary voters nationwide, Biden has 27.8 percent support while Sanders has 15.6 percent support.
In the 2016 Iowa Democratic caucuses that Sanders ran to a near-tie with eventual-nominee Hillary Clinton, the Vermont senator received the support of 59.5 percent of delegate equivalents in Story County, compared to 40.5 percent for Clinton.
In the past, Sanders has discussed his plan for revitalizing rural America by supporting smaller family farms and holding agribusiness corporations accountable.
This year, the Iowa Organic Association and Organic Farmers Association are working together to spread their 2019 message of “Combating Climate Change with Organic and Regenerative Agriculture.”
At the forum, each candidate will be offered two to three minutes to share with the audience their plan for agriculture platforms that support regenerative and organic agriculture. The hosts will also ask questions to any candidates who attend.
“Iowa Organic Farmers will ask candidates vetted questions about their policies — questions that get at the heart of the issues Iowa family farmers are facing throughout the state and representative of issues farmers face nationwide,” according to a news release from the Iowa Organic Association.
All presidential candidates have been invited to attend this forum, but Sanders is the only confirmed Democratic candidate attending as of late Wednesday.
