Innamorato tosses support behind Sanders
Deeming him the type of leader who can rebuild the trust between the Democratic Party and America’s working class, state Rep. Sara Innamorato is endorsing Bernie Sanders for president.
The Sanders campaign rolled out the endorsement Thursday morning and referred to Ms. Innamorato as a “beacon of Pennsylvania’s progressive moment” who has led locally on issues that are important to the Vermont senator’s campaign.
Ms. Innamorato, a 33-year-old Democrat who ousted a longtime incumbent last year from the state House with backing from the Democratic Socialists of America, said in an interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the country needs a leader who can tap into the knowledge and experiences of everyday citizens who have lived in the systems that are “failing us over and over again.”
Mr. Sanders, she said, can build those bonds with working people.
“What I see in Bernie Sanders is a willingness to engage with community leaders to think of communitycentered, people-centered policy solutions that don’t just come from the top down,” Ms. Innamorato said.
Although she has defended Mr. Sanders on Twitter recently in the face of attacks from other campaigns, Ms. Innamorato said she was also intrigued by the candidacies of Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and entrepreneur Andrew Yang.
But it came down to Mr. Sanders’ career-long advocacy on issues like climate change, “Medicare for All” and housing affordability, she said.
Ms. Innamorato — who represents the 21st Legislative District, spanning Aspinwall, Millvale and parts of Pittsburgh’s East End — dismissed warnings from other Democratic campaigns that a Sanders nomination would alienate rural voters.
“When you really go into these places, the collar counties, and talk about what is keeping people up at night, it’s their health care,” Ms. Innamorato said. “It’s their access to opportunity. They’re afraid that oil and gas is going to be the only industry they know in their community, and they’re not sure that it’s not making them sick.”
The Sanders campaign, as part of its focus on winning back the “blue wall” states that Donald Trump carried in 2016, has focused resources on organizing Pennsylvania volunteers, who have hosted more than 800 phone banks, canvasses and events, according to a campaign official.
Recent polling on the Democratic primary has shown Mr. Sanders with a slight edge in Iowa and a lead in New Hampshire, although Ms. Warren, former Vice President Joe Biden and former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg remain in the top tier.
The last significant poll in Pennsylvania — conducted by Muhlenberg College and The Morning Call in early November — showed Mr. Sanders with a 5-point lead over Mr. Trump in a hypothetical general election matchup. Mr. Biden, a Scranton native who apparently has set up his national campaign headquarters in Philadelphia, beat Mr. Trump by 9 points in that poll.
In a fundraising plea to supporters this week, Mr. Sanders’ campaign claimed it’s in a “great position” to win Pennsylvania and needs donations to make it happen.