United States Senator Bernie Sanders has proclaimed that Democrats can “absolutely” win back rural American votes from Republicans in the upcoming midterm elections.
Amid a Republican drive for entitlement reform, progressive initiatives covering issues such as social security and safety net programs are appealing enough for rural voters to win back their support, Sanders told The Hill on Monday.
“Look, what the Republican Party is today, … this is a party that worked as hard as they could to give a trillion dollars in tax breaks to the top 1 percent and to incredibly profitable large corporations,” added Sanders.
The independent senator made the comments in support of House of Representatives candidate J.D. Scholten, a Democrat he has been recently campaigning for in Iowa.
“J.D. can go around in the most conservative parts of this district and I doubt there are too many people who think we should give tax breaks to billionaires and cut social security, Medicare and Medicaid,” said Sanders detailing his vision for Scholten's campaign.
Sanders' comments come as the midterm elections are scheduled to be held in little more than two weeks on November 6. Many speculations have been made about the possible outcome, but Sanders has ruled out the possibility of a “blue wave” of Democratic domination, predicting that the vote will be determined by a “handful of votes” and will result in a “very, very close” race.
Midterm elections are known to historically result in favor of the opposition party, but some preliminary observations have suggested this year's midterms may be an exception.
Democrats are headed to the election hoping that the president’s “extreme” policies on immigration, tax and healthcare can help them make a case against the Republican Party.
On the other hand, the majority of Republicans believe the president is hitting the right chords on issues such as employment and immigration control, subsequently improving their standing. A smaller group of Republicans, however, think Trump's policies have been divisive and that they should distance themselves from the president if they want to win.
Some observers believe the race is shaping up as one of the most critical matches in the State's recent political history, especially since Democrats have signaled willingness to impeach Trump and even his appointed justice at the Supreme Court, Brett Kavanaugh if they get the required majority.