Sanders Hammers Trade Ahead of Wisconsin, Pennsylvania Primaries

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is promising to rewrite trade deals and oppose the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) ahead of the Wisconsin and Pennsylvania primaries. With less than 24 hours before voting starts in The Badger State, Sen. Sanders is touting his opposition to NAFTA, CAFTA, and his support for American workers over globalist trade policies entrenched in TPP.

“Not only did I oppose permanent normal trade relations with China, I stood with Steel workers and united electrical workers in opposition to it,” Sanders said at a rally in Pittsburg. “Normalized trade with China cost us 3.2 million jobs, including over 120,000 here in Pennsylvania.”

Sanders, who leads in four of five Wisconsin Democratic Primary polls and the average, has won the last five contests yet remains the clear underdog for the Democratic nomination. The self-proclaimed socialist has been reluctant to attack Mrs. Clinton on either Benghazi or the FBI’s criminal investigation into her use of a private email server to conduct official State Department business.

“By the way, there are a lot of people who say, Bernie, why don’t you go after her on her FBI investigation?” Bernie told Jake Tapper on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday. “Why don’t you go after her on the Clinton Foundation money? We have chosen not to do that.”

Polls show Mrs. Clinton still holds a significant lead in The Keystone State, though polling has been relatively scant and the Sanders campaign has reason to believe the race is much closer. In Michigan, Sanders’ trade message led to the biggest polling upset since the New Hampshire Democratic primary in 1984.

“Wisconsin is a better fit for Sen. Sanders not only because it will almost certainly be whiter, but because Mrs. Clinton has stronger relationships with the Democratic Establishment and black community in Pennsylvania,” says PPD senior political analyst Richard Baris. “That said, these contests are proportional and it is in the Rust Belt. He would be derelict not to compete for these votes.”

Sen. Sanders will hold two events at UAW (United Auto Workers Union) Local 95 in Janesville, Wisconsin on Monday, the hometown of Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan. Further, on the other side of the aisle, the message is also resonating with GOP primary voters in Pennsylvania.

Donald J. Trump currently leads his closest rival by 18 points, according to the latest poll. However, despite efforts, Sanders has been unable to break Mrs. Clinton’s continued hold on black voters, who are largely fueling her double-digit lead on the average of polls in Pennsylvania, where 210 delegates are at stake.