Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders says Democrats need a nominee who can engage and excite voters in 2020, from young people to the working class.
"You're not going to have that turnout unless the candidate has issues that excite people, that energize people," he said in an interview with the NPR Politics Podcast and New Hampshire Public Radio.
"That means you have to be talking about Medicare for all. You have to be talking about raising the minimum wage to a living wage of $15 an hour. You have to be talking about making public colleges and universities tuition-free and canceling student debt. You've got to be talking about climate change and a bold response to the planetary crisis."
This interview was conducted by NPR's Scott Detrow and NHPR's Josh Rogers. This candidate series is produced in collaboration with NHPR and Iowa Public Radio.
Sanders, 78, has served in the U.S. Senate since 2007. He was a congressman from 1991-2007, and previously was mayor of Burlington, Vt.
He was interviewed for this podcast after he marched in the Pride Parade in Nashua. Detrow began the interview by asking him — 50 years after the Stonewall riots — how far he sees LGBTQ rights have come, and what challenges or concerns remain.
"We still have a very long way to go to create the non-discriminatory society that we want. In my view, people have a right to live where they want to live, to do the work that they want to do, to get the health care that they need, to serve in the military if they choose to do that, regardless of their sexual orientation, end of discussion. And that's true for religion, that's true for race."
Sanders called President Trump "the most dangerous president in the history of this country." He cited his campaign motto, "Us, Not Me," what he described as a rallying call to unite Americans. "We're all in this together," he said.
