Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders headlined the Ohio Democratic Party’s Legacy Dinner on Sunday night at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. More than 3,000 people in blue, divided only by the names they chanted, supported and celebrated the two presidential candidates, and heard from each of them on issues generally facing the country, and Ohio specifically.
Sanders spoke first of the two; his endorsement from US Representative from Ohio, Marcy Kaptur, and his speech itself combined to take less than 15 minutes, and highlighted the key issues he’s always ran his campaign on: economic inequality, universal health care, and excessive political power owned by billionaires and corporations.
“This campaign is about ending a corrupt campaign finance system that allows billionaires to buy elections,” Sanders said in his speech. “Together we are going to work to overturn Citizens United.”
His seven minute address and a lot of the rest of the event also touched on keeping the democratic vote alive and spreading.
Ohio Democratic Party Chairman David Pepper shamed Ohio Secretary of State John Husted for suppressing the vote, noting the recent court case won by a group of 17-year-olds, affirming their right to vote in the primary if they are going to be 18 by election day.
Sanders, fresh from a rally that gathered more than 7,000 at the Schottenstein Center, mentioned its turnout there, comparing it to the events he’s held across the country and using it to demonstrate the discontent of his supporters.
“The American people, working people, young people want in to the political process,” Sanders said. “Together we are going to create a country and a political system in which we have one of the highest rates of voter turnout, not one of the lowest rates.”
Pepper and other Ohio Democrats, Sen. Sherrod Brown and candidate for US Senator Ted Strickland, spoke between the candidates, appealing to Ohio middle class workers in their support for unions and a higher minimum wage.
“That’s why my agenda in the Senate is to work for working people – people who punch the clock. People who struggle to pay the bills. People trying to pay for college. People worried that retirement is a luxury they can’t ever afford,” Stickland said. “And that is why I will protect the rights of workers to form a union and bargain for higher wages.”
Clinton carried that through with her address, mainly focusing on issues that Ohioans care about: the auto industry bail out, union rights (mentioning Senate Bill 5), and the exportation of American jobs.
“It is no wonder many Americans are concerned, frustrated, even angry. That’s why the test of this election has to be whether we can actually create good paying jobs here in America,” Clinton said. “Because the good jobs of the future are either going to end up in Asia or Europe, or here. And I’ll tell you; we not only want them, but we will make sure they end up right here – in Ohio and the rest of our country.”
According to a Quinnipiac poll released today, Clinton currently edges Sanders in Ohio, 51-46 percent.