Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., will speak next month during convocation at Liberty University, the college founded by Rev. Jerry Falwell in Lynchburg, Va.
The self-described socialist senator from Vermont decided to speak at the evangelical Christian college, where Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, launched his presidential campaign, because it will be a challenge – and because he thinks he may be able to forge some common ground.
“Liberty University was kind enough to invite me to address a convocation and I decided to accept,” Sanders said in a statement Wednesday night. “It goes without saying that my views on many issues — women’s rights, gay rights, education and many other issues — are very different from the opinions of some in the Liberty University community. I think it is important, however, to see if we can reach consensus regarding the grotesque level of income and wealth inequality in our country, about the collapse of the middle class, about the high level of childhood poverty, about climate change and other issues.”
“It is very easy for a candidate to speak to people who hold the same views,” Sanders said. “It’s harder but important to reach out to others who look at the world differently.”
According to Liberty University’s website, convocation “is North America’s largest weekly gathering of Christian students, and each year it plays host to more than 80 guest speakers of national significance.”
In July, Sanders drew the largest crowds of any presidential candidate so far in Iowa, the nation’s first caucus state. In New Hampshire, his campaign has had to change venues to accommodate growing crowds.
Sanders still trails Hillary Clinton, but some polls show him closing the gap. A WMUR/University of New Hampshire poll released Tuesday found Sanders trailing Hillary by just 6 percentage points in the Granite State.
