Bernie Sanders to Participate in Debate After Heart Procedure
The Vermont senator, 78, canceled all of his campaign events “until further notice” after he experienced chest pains.
(Bloomberg) -- Bernie Sanders will be on stage at the Democratic debate in Ohio on Oct. 15 following a heart procedure that took him off the campaign trail, aides said on Thursday.
His wife, Jane, said in a statement issued by the campaign that Sanders, a Vermont senator, “is up and about” and spent the day talking with staffers about policy.
“We expect Bernie will be discharged and on a plane back to Burlington before the end of the weekend,” she said in the email. “He’ll take a few days to rest, but he’s ready to get back out there and is looking forward to the October debate.”
The Vermont senator, 78, canceled all of his campaign events “until further notice” after he experienced chest pains at an event in Las Vegas on Tuesday. Doctors inserted two stents in his chest to clear an artery blockage, a routine procedure that is performed on millions of Americans each year.
Late Thursday, Sanders’ campaign announced that it was reversing a decision it made Wednesday and would proceed with a $1.3 million ad buy in Iowa. The spot will air starting Oct. 8 and will run for two weeks.
Sanders is the oldest candidate in the 2020 Democratic field. Elizabeth Warren is 70 and Joe Biden is 76. The likely Republican nominee, Donald Trump, is 73. But the episode raised questions about whether Sanders is too old to take on the rigors of the White House.
Nationally, Sanders is polling in third among Democrats at 16.8% according to the RealClearPolitics average. Biden is leading with 26.2% followed by Warren with 24%.
Sanders has taken on a busy campaign schedule. He was quick to tie his signature issue of Medicare for All to his health problems, tweeting Tuesday that he was feeling good and received good care, but wants to make sure all Americans are given the same level of treatment.
“None of us know when a medical emergency might affect us. And no one should fear going bankrupt if it occurs,” Sanders tweeted.
--With assistance from Sahil Kapur.
To contact the reporter on this story: Emma Kinery in Washington at ekinery@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Wendy Benjaminson at wbenjaminson@bloomberg.net, John Harney, Max Berley
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