Bernie Sanders to visit CMU, campaign for Katie McGinty

Bernie Sanders is returning to Pittsburgh, but this time, he’s campaigning for Democratic Senate candidate Katie McGinty.

McGinty, a Philadelphia native who previously served as Chief of Staff for Gov. Tom Wolf, is hosting a rally at Carnegie Mellon University’s Wiegand Gymnasium Friday, Sept. 16, beginning at 5 p.m. Sanders, the Vermont senator who ran and lost against Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination, will join McGinty for the rally. John Fetterman, who lost to McGinty in the Democratic primary, will attend the rally as well.

The main focus of McGinty’s campaign is about making education more available by putting a cap on the cost of college and supporting the refinancing of student debt. Sanders, whose presidential campaign was largely based on free higher education, has worked on expanding Pell Grants for college students and lowering student loan rates.

McGinty’s platform also includes plans to establish a clean energy economy, improve and expand the Affordable Care Act for health care and raise the minimum wage to $15. As a senator, Sanders works toward similar goals.

McGinty has attended several events in Pittsburgh to show her support for presidential Democratic candidates, most recently at Pittsburgh’s Labor Day Parade Sept. 5. McGinty spoke in the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in July for a rally held by Clinton and her running mate, Tim Kaine.

Unlike those events, in which McGinty pledged her support to Clinton, Friday’s rally will focus on McGinty herself. Sanders will speak on McGinty’s behalf, urging voters to support her in the senate race.

Sanders has not visited Pittsburgh since he lost the Democratic presidential candidacy to Clinton. His last stop in the city was April 25, when he hosted a rally at Pitt’s Fitzgerald Field House just one day before the Pennsylvania primary election.