Bernie Sanders Picks Up Coveted Iowa Endorsement

Democratic 2020 presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) greets people as he w
ALEX EDELMAN/AFP/Getty Images
Hannah Knudsen

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) picked up the support of Linn County Board of Supervisors’ Stacey Walker this week, a coveted endorsement who is featured as one of the “50 Most Wanted Democrats” per the Des Moines Register.

Sanders, who visited the Hawkeye State this week, officially picked up the endorsement of Linn County Board of Supervisors’ Stacey Walker. Walker is featured on the Des Moines Register’s “50 Most Wanted Democrats” list, which describes him as a “dynamic and charismatic speaker” who is continuing to “gain prominence on the Linn County Board of Supervisors”:

A Cedar Rapids native, Walker is active in the local community and Iowa politics. National Democrats like California U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna, former Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander and Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley, a possible 2020 candidate, campaigned with him in 2018.

While Walker said there are many qualified candidates in the race, Sanders is by far “the most progressive and best positioned to defeat Donald Trump in the general election.”

Walker added that Sanders “goes to the furthest” in terms of his sweeping progressive plans and added that the Vermont senator has been “talking about these issues for decades.”

He told the local CBS station:

When you add on top of the fact that he has brought together one of the most diverse coalition of supporters I think any presidential campaign has ever seen, what that means is we actually have a shot at achieving this ambitious policy program, because we’re going to have folks mobilize to put pressure on members of Congress to make sure we can pass this legislation.

Walker also told Politico that he is backing Sanders because the country needs someone with a “bold” vision in order to “course-correct from the disaster that Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress have become.”

“That is what America needs to course-correct from the disaster that Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress have become,” he said.

“We need a leader with a bold vision, and as a black man living in America, I’ve had enough of politicians telling me we have to scale back our dreams and ambitions,” he added.

Sanders is currently battling for the heart of Iowa, edging out Joe Biden (D) but falling behind Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D) in the latest Civiqs survey released this week.

The poll shows Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) leading in the Hawkeye State with 28 percent support, followed by Buttigieg, Sanders, and Biden with 20 percent, 18 percent, and 12 percent, respectively:

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