After a health scare, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is coming back to the campaign trail with a major push:
"Let me invite you all to a major rally we are having in Queens, New York," he said at Tuesday night's Democratic presidential primary debate in Ohio. "We are going to have a special guest."
That special guest he hinted at is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The Queens and Bronx congresswoman will be officially endorsing him for president this Saturday.
Camille Rivera has worked with many progressive political candidates as a consultant. She thinks it's the kind of news Sanders needed.
"It does put some vigor towards the campaign," Rivera said. "It is the boost I think the campaign needed to kind of get to a good space, and their politics and their values are aligned."
Ocasio-Cortez worked for Sanders's campaign in 2016, and a little over a week ago, on Inside City Hall, she downplayed the gravity of his health issues.
"For me, it's less about age and more about fitness," she said in the October 4 interview. "Frankly, I've been with Bernie on the campaign trail, he tires me out, I don't know where he gets it from."
With the Manhattan skyline as backdrop, in Queensbridge Park, Sanders hopes to rally his troops. His strong fundraising puts him at the top of the pack, but his poll numbers have recently slipped significantly.
Right next to the park is Queensbridge Houses, the largest public housing complex in the country.
"One of the biggest challenges of the campaign has been how you diversify a coalition, and I think that's why you have that background," Rivera said.
It is the same neighborhood where Amazon planned to build its second headquarters, a project that was scrapped after strong opposition from activists and progressive politicians like Ocasio-Cortez.
"Part of Bernie's and even Warren's platform has been about big corporations and holding them accountable," Rivera said. "I do believe there's symbolism around that."
And it's not only Ocasio-Cortez: Sanders will also get the endorsement of two other members of the so-called 'Squad': Congresswomen Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib.
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