Sanders to ‘change nature’ of campaign

Sen. Bernie Sanders, a week after suffering a heart attack in Las Vegas, said Tuesday that he planned to slow down his pace on the campaign trail and acknowledged that voters would likely consider his health when deciding whether to vote for him.

Speaking to reporters outside his home in Burlington, following a visit with a local cardiologist, Sanders gave no indication he was planning to drop out of the race and said he would continue to campaign actively.

“We were doing, you know, in some cases five or six meetings a day, three or four rallies and town meetings and meeting with groups of people,” Sanders said. “I don’t think I’m going to do that.”

“I think we’re going to change the nature of the campaign a bit,” he added. “Make sure that I have the strength to do what I have to do.”

Standing next to his wife, Jane, Sanders, 78, also acknowledged that his heart attack could be a factor for voters considering whether to support him.

“Everything that happens every day weighs on how people feel about you,” he said. “And my own view is that — and I think it’s the voters’ view — you look at the totality of who a candidate is. You look at what that candidate stands for, the integrity of that candidate, the history of that candidate.”

Sanders returned to Burlington over the weekend after being hospitalized in Las Vegas for three days last week, recovering from a heart attack. His campaign said he felt chest pains during events last Tuesday, and he was taken to the hospital, where two stents were inserted into an artery.