Democratic Candidates Bring Their Messages To Triangle Ahead of Primary

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders each gave speeches highlighting their differences on issues such as education and healthcare.

Clinton delivered her stump speech at Hillside High School in Durham on Thursday, saying she supports the Affordable Care Act and will try to extend coverage and lower cost as president.

“I also believe we should not start over. We should not in any way throw our country into a contentious debate about healthcare again,” said Clinton.

Sanders supports extending Medicare coverage and instituting a single-payer healthcare system. Sanders was a member of the Senate committee responsible for writing the Affordable Care Act and says it was a step in the right direction.

Sanders addressed a crowd at the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Raleigh Friday afternoon.

“Now somehow or another every other major country on earth guarantees healthcare to all its people,” said Sanders.

Clinton said when she was working on education reform in Arkansas, she looked to North Carolina as a model for public schools. Clinton targeted the current Republican state government for their handling of public education.

“So what was in many ways an incredible success story that people looked at and wanted to emulate, we watched your Republican governor and legislature slowing eroding the base for public education in this state,” said Clinton.

Clinton said she wanted to raise teacher salaries and create a more professional teaching force. Sanders also spoke about education but focused on college tuition.

“Today’s economy requires more education. That is why I believe that we must, when we talk about public education in America, we must make public colleges and universities tuition free,” said Sanders.

Both candidates took stabs at each other as well. Clinton called out Sanders for supporting legislation in 2005 that protects gun manufacturers from liability when their guns are used in crimes.

“A law was passed a few years ago immunizing the gun companies and sellers from liability. I voted against it, my opponent voted for it,” said Clinton.

Sanders has made campaign finance reform one of the central issues of his campaign, highlighting that he does not have a Super Pac. He targeted Clinton for accepting donations from major corporations.

“You don’t have to be a PhD in political science to know that you cannot be an agent for real change in this country when you take huge amounts of money from the most power special interest,” said Sanders.

Sanders spoke against free trades agreements such as NAFTA and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, as well as advocating for limited foreign military interventions.

Clinton also spoke about issues like voting rights and climate change.

Both Sanders and Clinton advocated for job creation through infrastructure investment and equal pay for women.

In a recent WRAL poll, 57% of North Carolinians support Clinton versus 34% for Sanders. Support for Sanders is stronger among 18-34 year olds but Clinton has strong support among older voters. African Americans support Clinton almost 3 to 1 but Sanders does better than Clinton with Hispanic voters.

The North Carolina primary is March 15.

Democratic Candidates Bring Their Messages To Triangle Ahead of Primary

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