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Senator Sanders Considering Presidential Run

John Pemble/IPR file photo
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders speaking at Drake University during a series of stops in Iowa to gauge support for a presidential bid in 2016.

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is speaking in Iowa this week to gauge support for a presidential run in 2016. 

Speaking at Drake University in Des Moines, Sanders says he is hesitant to run because he'll need an unprecedented grassroots movement.

“If I were phenomenally successful in terms of fundraising, and got say three million Americans to contribute a hundred dollars each, that is one third of the amount of money that the Koch brothers themselves are gonna spend,” says Sanders.

Sanders says he sees the rich getting richer, while everyone else is getting poorer. “And I think we need some fundamental changes in public policies so that the government of America begins to represent the middle class and working families and not just the billionaire class,” says Sanders.

Sanders wants to reduce student debt by lowering tuition to public colleges for the first two years through federal grants. He also says the minimum wage should be raised to 15-dollars an hour.

John Pemble is a reporter for IPR