Wisconsin Public Radio

Bernie Sanders Draws Capacity Crowd in Kenosha

They're cutting programs 'that lower-income and working people desperately need.'

By , Wisconsin Public Radio - Mar 8th, 2025 10:32 am
Sen. Bernie Sanders greets attendees at UW-Parkside before speaking Friday, March 7, 2025, in Kenosha, Wis. Angela Major/WPR

Sen. Bernie Sanders greets attendees at UW-Parkside before speaking Friday, March 7, 2025, in Kenosha, Wis. Angela Major/WPR

It wasn’t a campaign rally or an election pit stop, but once again, Wisconsinites packed an arena to see a politician speak Friday night.

It was Bernie Sanders, who was in Kenosha as part of his national Fighting Oligarchy tour. Around 3,500 people came to see the Vermont senator and former Democratic presidential primary candidate.

Another 500 were turned away after the University of Wisconsin-Parkside’s basketball stadium reached capacity.

An attendee cheers as Ellen Holly from the Walworth County Democrats speaks ahead of Sen. Bernie Sanders on Friday, March 7, 2025, at UW-Parkside in Kenosha, Wis. Angela Major/WPR

An attendee cheers as Ellen Holly from the Walworth County Democrats speaks ahead of Sen. Bernie Sanders on Friday, March 7, 2025, at UW-Parkside in Kenosha, Wis. Angela Major/WPR

To begin his remarks, Sanders pulled two contrasting scenes from his memory.

One was something he saw in a Vermont town during Memorial Day celebrations.

“Every year, they have a kid from the high school reciting the Gettysburg Address,” he explained.

“And that the government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth,” Sanders quoted the speech.

The other scene was from President Donald Trump’s January inauguration.

“Standing right behind Trump as he took his oath office were the three wealthiest men in America,” Sanders recalled.

Sen. Bernie Sanders addresses attendees Friday, March 7, 2025, at UW-Parkside in Kenosha, Wis. Angela Major/WPR

Sen. Bernie Sanders addresses attendees Friday, March 7, 2025, at UW-Parkside in Kenosha, Wis. Angela Major/WPR

The crowd booed as he named them — Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg.

“They want to dismember the federal government and cut programs that lower-income and working people desperately need,” he said.

Meanwhile, Sanders said, people are struggling to pay for rent, child care and prescription drugs.

“They worry about what happens when the car breaks down. You need to put $1,000 to get the car going. If you don’t have the $1,000, you can’t get to work. If you can’t get to work, you lose your job. If you lose your job, what the hell happens to your family?” he said.

“We have got to come up with the ideas and the agenda that working people all over this country support,” he said.

He listed some — publicly funding elections, raising the minimum wage to $17 an hour, and universal Medicare for All.

“Despair is not an option,” Sanders said.

An attendee holds up a sign that says “Billionaires won’t save us” before Sen. Bernie Sanders takes the stage Friday, March 7, 2025, in Kenosha, Wis. Angela Major/WPR

An attendee holds up a sign that says “Billionaires won’t save us” before Sen. Bernie Sanders takes the stage Friday, March 7, 2025, in Kenosha, Wis. Angela Major/WPR

He compared fighting billionaire influence to American colonists “taking on the entire British empire, the most powerful force on Earth.”

“From the bottom of my heart, I am convinced that they can be beaten,” he said to a long standing ovation.

Sanders thanked his audience for an “unbelievable turnout” and encouraged Republican Rep. Bryan Steil, who represents Wisconsin’s 1st Congressional District, to hold a town hall meeting in the same arena at a later date.

Steil called Sanders’ appearance part of a “fear mongering tour” and, in a statement, said Wisconsinites want “secure borders, control of spending, and boys out of girls’ sports.”

Attendees wait for Sen. Bernie Sanders to speak Friday, March 7, 2025, at UW-Parkside in Kenosha, Wis. Angela Major/WPR

Attendees wait for Sen. Bernie Sanders to speak Friday, March 7, 2025, at UW-Parkside in Kenosha, Wis. Angela Major/WPR

Supporters and Sanders reflect on present moment

Ellen Dux and Julian Kudick drove from Milwaukee to see Sanders.

“He had the right way the whole time, and the Democrats kind of failed us in that regard,” Kudick said.

“He’s obviously doing (the tour) for the people. He’s not doing it for a position of power. He genuinely feels this way,” Dux said.

Rita and Joe Bomher came up to the rally from Chicago.

“Don’t let them divide us between religion, abortion, LGBT — that doesn’t matter,” Rita Bomher said. “Skin color doesn’t matter.”

“We just got to come together on these main issues and stop these guys from robbing us of this American Dream that we keep talking about that’s not working for anybody,” Joe Bomher said.

Sen. Bernie Sanders shakes hands with attendees after speaking Friday, March 7, 2025, at UW-Parkside in Kenosha, Wis. Angela Major/WPR

Sen. Bernie Sanders shakes hands with attendees after speaking Friday, March 7, 2025, at UW-Parkside in Kenosha, Wis. Angela Major/WPR

After the event, Sanders told WPR the rally’s 4,000-person turnout was “mind-boggling” and “very gratifying.”

He said his task is going to “marginal districts” like Wisconsin’s 1st district, arguing to people what’s “at stake,” and hoping constituents pressure their congresspeople to oppose the Trump administration’s actions.

Sanders headed to Altoona in Eau Claire County on Saturday and to Warren, Michigan later the same day. He spoke in Nebraska and Iowa as part of this tour last month.

Sen. Bernie Sanders arrives at UW-Parkside to speak Friday, March 7, 2025, in Kenosha, Wis. Angela Major/WPR

Sen. Bernie Sanders arrives at UW-Parkside to speak Friday, March 7, 2025, in Kenosha, Wis. Angela Major/WPR

Bernie Sanders draws capacity crowd in Kenosha was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.

If you think stories like this are important, become a member of Urban Milwaukee and help support real, independent journalism. Plus you get some cool added benefits.

Comments

  1. Ryan Cotic says:

    So we have a millionaire socialist lecturing people to be against the rich!? Can you say hypocrite

  2. kaygeeret says:

    He made his money by writing and selling a BOOK

    Not on gov’t handouts (musk and tesla and the spaceship thing), not on traitor trump stiffing the illegal workers and legal contractors he hired to build his ugly buildings and not on bankrupting 3 casinos.

    By the way the only way you bankrupt a casino is by stripping it of all the assets – by legal or illegal moves. Casino odds favor the house – always.

  3. TosaGramps1315 says:

    Ryan-

    Where in his speech does he discuss his belief that Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security should be considered for cost saving cuts?
    Where in his speech does he discuss his belief that it is good to arbitrarily and unilaterally fire government workers and close needed social support agencies?
    I disagree with some of Bernie’s far, far left positions. But he is trying to make the case that many people need the support that government was designed to offer, instead of the reTrumplican position that makes one believe that their ideal world would be to have anyone that needs any help for anything just cease to exist.

    You have obviously consumed too much of the Frump Kool-Aid. Maybe it’s time to switch to a different beverage.

Leave a Reply

You must be an Urban Milwaukee member to leave a comment. Membership, which includes a host of perks, including an ad-free website, tickets to marquee events like Summerfest, the Wisconsin State Fair and the Florentine Opera, a better photo browser and access to members-only, behind-the-scenes tours, starts at $9/month. Learn more.

Join now and cancel anytime.

If you are an existing member, sign-in to leave a comment.

Have questions? Need to report an error? Contact Us