Sen. Bernie Sanders offered a strong case for Dr. Abdul El-Sayed in the Democratic Senate primary in Michigan during an appearance Sunday morning on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” The question is whether or not we live in a democratic society where a candidate fighting for working people can take on tens and tens of millions of dollars of AIPAC money, special interest money.

SENATOR BERNIE SANDERS: What’s going on now makes the Gilded Age of Rockefeller look like an egalitarian utopia. What’s going on now is that millions of our people, right now, in the richest country on Earth, they’re struggling to put food on the table, pay for health care, pay for their rent, pay for their mortgage. You got half of all the workers who have nothing in savings as they face retirement. Or you’re facing seeing kids unable to afford to go to college in the richest country in the history of the world. So people all over America are looking around. They’re saying, hey, wait a minute. The very richest people are becoming richer. Elon Musk himself, one man, owns more wealth by far than the bottom half of American households. What in God’s name is going on? And people look at the Republican leadership and Donald Trump, and they say, you know, this guy’s worried about a reflecting pool. I can’t afford my retirement. He’s starting a war in Iran, costing us huge amounts of money, killing innocent people. Eighteen American servicemen are dead. What are they doing? And then you look at the Democratic Party leadership, which also gets their money, like the Republicans, from very wealthy people. And people are saying, is the Democratic leadership representing ordinary Americans? And I think people look at the Republicans, they say, no, they’re out of touch. Look at the Democratic leadership, say, no, they’re out of touch. We need a government, radical idea, that works for all people and not just for wealthy campaign contributors. And that’s why, from New York City with Mamdani, and in Colorado, and in California, and in Montana, and I think you’re going to see it in Michigan, people are saying, enough is enough. You know, let’s get a government that represents all of us. And I’ve got to tell you something, Kristen, that part of the exasperation that the American people are feeling, it’s not just an economy which is rigged. They’re looking at an underlying corrupt campaign finance system. And what you’re seeing in Michigan right now is AIPAC, other billionaire-funded super PACS putting tens and tens of millions of dollars against Abdul El-Sayed. In Minnesota against Peggy Flanagan, same thing. So we’ve got billionaires buying elections, government working for the billionaires, and ordinary people saying, we want change. And that is why progressives, democratic socialists are doing so well all over this country. They’ve got an agenda that speaks to the needs of working families. They’re prepared to stand up to the oligarchs. KRISTEN WELKER: Let’s talk about Michigan. You raised it. Your endorsed candidate, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, is running against Congresswoman Haley Stevens. She is backed by much of the Democratic establishment that you’re talking about, Senator. How confident are you that he’s going to win on Tuesday? Can he pull out a victory? SENATOR BERNIE SANDERS: Look, you know, I’m not a political scientist. I cannot recall where a major candidate was outspent so much by super PACs. I mean, they’re spending tens and tens of millions of dollars against him. The polling recently looks good, but polls don’t win elections. People do. So I would hope that, in Michigan and later next week in Minnesota, people understand the importance of this election. What’s it about? It’s not just whether Abdul can win or not, beat Haley Stevens. The question is whether or not we live in a democratic society where a candidate fighting for working people can take on tens and tens of millions of dollars of AIPAC money, special interest money. And I hope very much that Abdul is. And I’ll tell you why, and a kind of selfish reason. Everybody in America understands that our current health care system is totally broken. We’re spending unbelievable amounts of money, twice as much per capita as the people of any other country. 85 million uninsured, underinsured. Prices way high. Doctor El-Sayed is somebody I need in the Senate as he fights for Medicare for All. He’s a doctor. He has seen the broken health care system. We need him to make sure that every man, woman, and child in this country has health care as a human right, as is the case in every other major country on Earth. KRISTEN WELKER: Well, and as you know, Senator, it is going to be very hard for Democrats to win back the Senate if they do not win the state of Michigan. This is Senator Gary Peter’s seat that we’re talking about. He’s backing Haley Stevens. He argued that she’s the more electable candidate. Here’s what he said, Senator. You have to have a candidate who understands that winning a general election doesn’t mean just turning out Democrats. You also have to appeal to a broader cross-section of your state, and Michigan is a true purple state. What do you think Doctor El-Sayed will have to do in order to turn out moderates and independents to win a general election if he does win on Tuesday? SENATOR BERNIE SANDERS: Well, I think Gary makes a good point. And the reason I think that Doctor El-Sayed will win in Michigan is that if you’re working-class Republican, you know what? You can’t afford health care. You know the system is broken. You are struggling to figure out how you’re going to retire with dignity. You understand that the current campaign finance system is broken. You understand that workers need decent wages, and El-Sayed is fighting for a livable minimum wage. And by the way, if you’re a Republican, you know maybe we should be investing our money into Michigan, into Vermont, into America rather than giving the extremist government of Netanyahu and Israel tens of billions of dollars to continue their atrocities against the Palestinian people– So if you’re a working-class Republican in Michigan, I think you’re going to listen to what El-Sayed says. And I think many of them will end up voting for him–independents as well, of course.

Here’s the full interview:
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