Sanders ad calls for ‘new direction’ for Dem Party

by Jesse Byrnes - 05/24/16 3:32 PM ET

Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders calls on voters to pick “a new direction” for the Democratic Party in a new television ad ahead of California’s June 7 primary.

Sanders says in the ad that voters should push to “break the back of a corrupt” campaign finance system, “stand up to Wall Street” and “fight for tuition-free public colleges and universities.”

{mosads}“What choice do Californians have in this election? The biggest one of all,” Sanders says in the 30-second ad released Tuesday. “California, it’s a long way to Washington, but you can send them a message they can’t ignore.”

A Sanders campaign aide said the ad was backed by an initial $1.5 million buy and is slated to air starting Wednesday in Los Angeles, followed by San Francisco and Sacramento.

Sanders went up with his first TV ad in the state last month, touting the small-dollar donations to his campaign compared to big-money donations to the campaign of his rival Hillary Clinton.

Sanders has this week sought to pressure Clinton to agree to a debate in California, which has 475 pledged delegates up for grabs. Clinton has declined to participate, with a spokesperson for her campaign saying she’ll compete in California while turning to focus on presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump.

– Updated at 3:46 p.m.

Tags 2016 Democratic primary Bernie Sanders California Donald Trump Hillary Clinton