Two presidential candidates paid a visit to Michigan on Monday.
In Ypsilanti, more than 9,000 people packed Eastern Michigan University’s Convocation Center today to see Bernie Sanders speak.
The U.S. Senator from Vermont and Democratic presidential candidate opened his remarks by saying he had just met with Flint residents affected by the city’s water crisis.
Sanders called it one of the most difficult meetings of his career.
“I obviously have read the newspapers, have been somewhat involved in the issue,” he told the crowd. “But I really did not know how ugly and how horrible and how terrible what is going on in that community.”
Sanders also called on his Republican colleagues in the Senate to hold hearings on President Obama’s choice to replace Justice Antonin Scalia on the U.S. Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, Ohio Governor John Kasich took his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination to Michigan. At his first stop today at Grand Valley State University, he was asked about legalizing marijuana. Kasich says he’s not opposed to the medicinal use of marijuana, but has no interest in full legalization. In part, he says, because he doesn’t want to send a message that drug use is OK.
“I don’t want to ruin someone’s life because they smoked dope, but I’m not for legalizing it. And people say, well why not? Because I don’t want to send a double message to the country. This is a scourge.”
Kasich focused more on the widespread abuse of heroin and other opioids. Kasich also called for
a more muscular foreign policy, and said he supports overseas intervention to fight terrorism.
Michigan’s presidential primary is three weeks away on March 8.
