Influential Iowa group endorses Sanders

The largest progressive community organization in Iowa endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) for president on Monday ahead of the state’s closely watched upcoming caucuses.

A press release from the Sanders campaign announced that the Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (CCI) would make a formal endorsement of the senator at an event on Thursday, marking the second time Sanders has secured the group’s endorsement after previously winning it in 2016.

“Some 2020 Presidential candidates have been embracing or acknowledging movement politics. But only one of them has been doing it for decades, just like Iowa CCI Action and our sister organization Iowa CCI,” said the head of Iowa CCI’s political arm, Iowa CCI Action. “That’s why Iowa CCI Action is endorsing Bernie Sanders. We’re standing with Bernie because Bernie stands with us.” 

“Iowa CCI is not only the largest progressive organization in Iowa, they are the hardest working and know what it takes to win for working people,” added Misty Rebik, state director for the Sanders campaign. “The members of Iowa CCI made this endorsement because they know that when Bernie Sanders is in the White House, he will fight alongside us because he always has.”

The group is known locally for its opposition to the expansion of factory farms and advocacy for environmental regulations, including the Clean Water Act. Iowa CCI’s website also touts the group’s effectiveness in recovering lost wages for workers in the state.

Sanders has remained a top-tier candidate in the Iowa caucuses for months and trailed both South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) by single digits in a poll of the state’s electorate last month.