Sen. Bernie Sanders, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez rally Democrats in Venice

ByAnabel Munoz and ABC7.com staff KABC logo
Sunday, December 22, 2019
Sanders holds rally in Venice, joined by Ocasio-Cortez
Democratic presidential candidate and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders concluded a six-day campaign swing through California with a rally in Venice Saturday.

VENICE, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Democratic presidential candidate and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders concluded a six-day campaign swing through California with a rally in Venice Saturday.

"Our campaign is not only about defeating Trump, our campaign is about a political revolution,'' Sanders said. "It is about transforming this country, it is about creating a government and an economy that works for all people and not just the 1 percent.''

Sanders boasted that he has received "more contributions from more people than any candidate in the history of the United States of America.''

Thousands attended the beachside rally at the Windward Plaza following Thursday's Democratic debate at Loyola Marymount University in Westchester.

"We don't have a Super-PAC, we don't want a Super-PAC,'' he said. "We don't go to rich people's wine caves. This is a campaign of the working class of this country, by the working class and for the working class.''

Sanders was introduced by New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who was a volunteer organizer in the South Bronx for his campaign for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination. She endorsed Sanders for the 2020 nomination on Oct. 19.

As the crowd occasionally chanted "A-O-C", Ocasio-Cortez praised Sanders for his ambitious climate protection plan -- which she called "a solution that at least attempts to be on the scale of the crisis.'' On foreign policy, she praised Sanders' long commitment to making sure we are scaling back endless war.''

Other supporters of Sanders attending Saturday's event included Los Angeles City Councilmembers Mike Bonin and Gil Cedillo, actor Tim Robbins and author Cornel West.

The bands Young the Giant and Local Natives and the bicultural, bilingual millennial singer-songwriter duo Jesse & Joy also performed at the rally.

The Sanders campaign raised more than $1 million from tens of thousands of contributions on Thursday during the seven-candidate debate, its best during a debate day in 2019, campaign manager Faiz Shakir said Friday.

City News Service contributed to this report.