On a day forecast to be cold and rainy, Madisonians will turn out to “feel the Bern” at a rally for Presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders Friday afternoon.
Sanders, an independent U.S. senator from Vermont, will hold a rally at James Madison Park at 5 p.m. Friday. The rally is free and open to the public, with admission granted on a first come, first serve basis.
Sanders’ visit to Madison will be the first on a weekend-long tour of Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, three traditionally Democratic states that flipped to vote for Donald Trump in the 2016 election. Sanders won Wisconsin and Michigan in the 2016 Democratic primary, but lost Pennsylvania to Hillary Clinton. All three states elected Democratic governors in 2018.
Sanders performed well in the traditional liberal stronghold of Madison in the 2016 primary, receiving nearly twice as many votes as Clinton. He also won the largely progressive Dane County by 25 percentage points.
Sander’s last Madison rally before the 2016 primary drew over 4,000 people to the Kohl Center. A 2015 Sanders rally in Madison drew an upwards of 10,000. It’s doubtful Friday’s event will draw as big a crowd, as the high for the day is forecast to be in the mid-40s with rain showers.
Though Sanders’ campaign website lists James Madison Park as the event location, Madison Ald. Ledell Zellers, District 2, sent an email to her constituents claiming the police department told her the final location has not been set.
“The Wisconsin State Journal has reported that the visit will take place in James Madison Park,” Zellers said. “That has yet to be determined. While that may be the location, it is not yet firm and is still under discussion.”
Madison police confirmed they were working with Sanders’ staff to coordinate on security, but said they did not yet know if traffic would be rerouted.
Madison Deputy Mayor Katie Crawley said the mayor’s office had been in contact with the campaign, but did not know how many people they expect will attend.
