U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders stopped in northeast Minneapolis on Saturday to lead hundreds in a get-out-the-vote rally for U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar as she seeks a fourth term in Congress.
Sanders, the Vermont independent who has twice sought the Democratic presidential nomination, told the crowd at Thomas Edison High School that Omar, a Democrat, “is one of the outstanding members of the United States Congress” and that he was proud to work with her.
“She knows that her job is not to represent big money interests, but to represent working people” as well as children, senior citizens, and “vulnerable people in our society,” said Sanders, who spoke Friday night at Minnesota State University Mankato.
The Omar campaign said at least 700 people attended the rally at Edison High, where Omar graduated in 2001. Supporters lined up along the walls of the packed auditorium, shouting Sanders’ and Omar’s names while waving “Ilhan for Congress” signs.
U.S. Sen. Tina Smith also addressed the rally, voicing her support for Omar. The Minnesota Democrat said the campaign’s momentum has surged in recent weeks since President Joe Biden decided not to seek re-election and opened the door to the presumptive nomination of Vice President Kamala Harris.
“The energy, the grassroots enthusiasm, that is real,” Smith said. “That is organic, because people can see that there should be hope and joy in politics. There is joy in fighting for what we believe in.”
Supporters greeted Omar with a standing ovation and cheers. She told them that Edison High and Minnesota had made her feel welcome after her family, Somali immigrants, arrived here in the 1990s.
“I am also a proud mom of three Minneapolis public school students and will always fight hard to ensure our educators have the resources that they need,” Omar said.
