Sanders praises John Fetterman’s progressive agenda at CMU rally, Page

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders rallied for John Fetterman on Sunday at Carnegie Mellon University, telling a packed room of progressives that the Pennsylvania lieutenant governor candidate will help usher in the Democratic Socialist agenda that the senator has been revolutionizing.

Mr. Sanders, a Vermont Independent and a 2016 Democratic Party presidential candidate, brought out his greatest hits in a 30-minute campaign speech. He talked up the need for tuitionfree public colleges, health care for all and a $15 federal minimum wage.

“What the political revolution is about is understanding that when we stand up for a progressive agenda, that many of the ideas that we talk about today which some people think are fringe and extreme become mainstream tomorrow,” Mr. Sanders said, flanked to his right by Mr. Fetterman, the mayor of Braddock.

The rally, billed as a get-outthe-vote effort in Mr. Fetterman’s run alongside incumbent Gov. Tom Wolf on the Democratic ticket, has been sharply criticized by Republicans.

In a statement last week, Pennsylvania GOP spokesman Jason Gottesman said the campaign event “is the latest indication that the Wolf-Fetterman ticket is so far to the left that they have lost sight of the moderate Pennsylvanians who are looking for a hand up, not a hand out.”

The state GOP also put out a public call to action last week, asking Democrats to say whether they support the Democratic Socialist agenda, which state GOP chairman Val DiGiorgio said “disrespects taxpayer dollars and incites violence.”

In an interview with reporters after the rally, Mr. Fetterman called Republicans “desperate” and said the Democratic ticket is the one on the side of working families in Pennsylvania.

Mr. Fetterman also said there’s a range of beliefs and platforms in the Democratic Party, and that he is open to meeting people where they are ideologically.

“You know, the only candidate that you’re going to agree with 100 percent of the time is yourself if your name’s on the ballot,” he said. “Otherwise, you’re going to have differences.”

The only platform he is attached to, Mr. Fetterman added, is Mr. Wolf’s.

Mr. Sanders’ appearance at the rally, following a morning speech at the American Federation of Teachers conference in Downtown, was also celebratory in nature. He praised two Democratic state House nominees, Summer Lee and Sara Innamorato, for their winning progressive campaigns in the Pittsburgh area.

Ms. Innamorato, who opened the rally, talked up Mr. Sanders’ “political revolution” and hit back at Republicans who she said have been “weaponizing” the Democratic Socialist agenda.

“They are compiling a list of Democrats who support this agenda since these are the issues we fight for as Democratic Socialists, and instead of fighting for issues that impact working people’s lives, they want to waste your money spreading fear and further dividing us,” Ms. Innamorato said.

The young, mostly collegeaged crowd cheered as Mr. Fetterman said it’s “all on the line” for Democrats and progressives in defeating the Republican ticket of Scott Wagner for governor and Jeff Bartos for lieutenant governor.