we're live in ohio. the democratic candidates for president are here. >> and the voters have fewer than two days to make up their minds. >> tonight, the democrats are in ohio answering directly to voters in one of the nation's key battleground states. >> i want to be the president for the struggling and the striving. >> we have a long, long way to go to rebuild the american middle class. >> hillary clinton and bernie sanders sharing the spotlight and the scrutiny. >> it matters what you say when you run for president of the united states of america. >> pressure is mounting as the fight for delegates enters a crucial round. >> we're going to win here on march 15th and together we're going to transform america. this is a town hall event. a chance for voters to have their say. >> we have focused on issues. >> this is a great country and we can do a lot better than we're doing now. >> the democrats are making their pitch. voters are making their choice and ohio hangs in the balance right now. live on the campus of the ohio state university in columbus, this is the cnn tv one democratic presidential town hall. we want to welcome our viewers here in the united states and around the world and our partner tv one and to listeners of the tv one network, i'm jake tapper. elections in the state is about to play a critical roll on tuesday when voters go to the polls here along with four other big states. in this auditorium we have found many ohio voters who are still undecided. and before they make up their minds they want answers from senator bernie sanders and former secretary of state hillary clinton. audience members have submitted questions to us. we have reviewed them to make sure that they do not overlap, i'll be asking some questions as well as well as my friend roland martin of tv one. first, let's welcome senator bernie sanders of vermont. >> so senator, let's start. i have a few questions, so did roland, then we'll get to ohio voters. there's been a lot of emotion on the campaign trail and in some cases unfortunately there's been some violence. donald trump has been on the stump blaming your supporters for some of it. take a listen. >> look, it's a bernie person. it's a bernie -- hello, bernie. bernie, get your people in line, bernie. can you imagine bernie saying that trump should get his people under control and they put in these people? and by the way, our crowds are so much bigger than bernie's, you wouldn't believe it. >> your response, senator? >> i hate to say this because i really don't like to disparage public officials, but donald trump is a pathological liar. we have never -- our campaign does not believe and never will encourage anybody to disrupt anything. we have millions of supporters, and people do what they do, and people have the right to protest. i happen not to believe that people should disrupt anybody's meetings, but let me say something about mr. trump. some of you may have read just a few hours ago that mr. trump said that he is prepared to pay for the legal costs of an individual who sucker punched somebody at a recent event. he is going to pay the legal fees of somebody who committed a terrible act of violence. what that means is that donald trump is literally inciting violence with his supporters. he is saying that if you go out to beat somebody up, that is okay, i will pay the legal fees. that is an outrage and i would hope that mr. trump tones it down big time and tells his supporters that violence is not acceptable in the american political process. >> senator sanders -- [ applause ] so i interviewed senator marco rubio this morning, and he told me that he is also very concerned about the tone that donald trump has at his rallies, and senator rubio told me that he is, quote, very concerned about the tone to the degree that he's worried that somebody might actually lose their life. are you concerned that way? >> well, you know, jake, you heard this one individual who sucker punched somebody, and if he is quoted correctly, what he said, well, you know, why did you punch him up? well, he might be a terrorist, and next time i might have to kill him. i think that's roughly the quote. >> that's exactly what he said. >> that's what he said. and this is guy that trump is going to be paying legal fees for? what that is essentially saying, my friends, is an incitement to violence. you go beating up somebody, it's okay. we'll pay the legal fees. this is unacceptable, and i think that senator rubio has a legitimate concern. we got to put an end to this. trump has to get on the tv and tell his supporters that violence in the political process in america is not acceptable, end of discussion. >> and one second, roland, i'm sorry. i want to play devil's advocate for one second on this. some of your supporters in chicago were acting violently as well, and i have to say that the guy who rushed the stage yesterday at donald trump voted for you. now i know that you are not encouraging -- i know you're not encouraging the violence. >> jake, millions of people voted for me. if i have to take responsibility for everybody who voted for me, it will be a very difficult life. but let me repeat what i said. i have never and i will never condone violence. people have the right to protest. that's what america is about. i've been on picket lines my whole life. but that's very different from getting involved in violence. >> senator sanders, you have talked a lot about income inequality in this campaign. reverend jesse jackson sr. who is here has been fighting silicon valley and opening up the doors for people of color, and however, power pac plus did a study showing that the democratic party spent $514 million on various consultants, and minorities got 1.7% or 8 million of that. and how can the people trust democrats to do something about income inequality when it comes to dollars they practice income inequality? >> that's a very good point. let me say hello to reverend jackson. and i was with him yesterday. i am proud to say that way back in 1988 when he and i were younger and he ran the brilliant campaign fort president, and i am proud to say that i was one of the few white politicians and elected officials to support jesse jackson. and he, in fact, won the state of vermont. i'm proud of that. and what we have to do as a party but as a nation make sure that federal contracts and money goes to those people who need it the most. roland, let me tell you what i think is one of the great crises facing the country which gets little coverage from the media, and that is youth unemployment in this country. unemployment and underemployment is off the charts. for african-american kids, it is 51%. >> mm-hmm. >> i want and i believe that the folks most capable of helping lower that rate are the black business community. and i think that we should be very aggressive in targeting federal contracts to the african-american community, the latino community and those communities that can help us the most deal with highest rates of unemployment. i share your concern. it's a good point. >> senator sanders, would you stand up. we'll take questions from american voters now. the first question is from tarina allen. if she would stand up. there you are. her brother was shot and killed by a police officer last year after a routine traffic stop for a missing license plate. you might remember this took place at the university of cincinnati. he would have turned 44 yesterday. she said she's leaning towards secretary clinton but she's still undecided. the floor is yours. >> hi, senator sanders. thank you for taking my question. i just wanted to ask as americans we are -- it's expected that we can speak out against terrorists, we can speak out against murderers, and killers of all forms, except when that killer is a police officer. yesterday my brother was going to turn 44 years old. and last year he was shot by a police officer. we've been on a mission to get some accountability of the police systems. we wanted to know -- it's been my experience, unfortunately, that police officers do lie. they do kill unjustly. they do falsify police reports. how can we -- as president what would you do to create a zero tolerance policy for unjust police killings and to help to create a system of accountability that's greater than what we have right now? >> well, terina, first of all, on behalf of my wife and myself, we send you our condolences for your terrible unjust loss. we have seen in ohio and all over this country unarmed people, often african-americans, shot and killed while being apprehended by police officers. that has got to end, and it has got to end soon. so let me just say a couple things. number one, any police officer who breaks the law, like any other public official, must be held accountable. period. people break the law, they must be held accountable. [ applause ] number two, if elected president of the united states, my department of justice will investigate every killing of an american held in police custody or killed while being apprehended. an automatic department of justice investigation. [ applause ] number three, we need to develop the concept of a model police department. and a model police department, the federal government can play a significant role on that. so to make and to create training procedures so that police officers understand that the use of lethal force is the last response not the first response. too often people are shooting, and then asking questions later. furthermore, we need to demilitarize local police departments around this country so that they don't look like occupying armies, and we need to make police departments reflect the diversity of the communities they are serving. [ applause ] the american people are tired, blacks, whites, all of us are tired of seeing unarmed people getting shot. we are tired, by the way, of seeing more people in jail in america than any other country on earth. i promise you that addressing this issue of real criminal justice reform and ending institutional racism will be at the very top of my list of priorities. >> thank you, senator. i want to turn now to john terry who works in manufacturing, and he is leaning towards you. >> thank you very much, senator. it is a once in a lifetime opportunity to be here. we all know that the auto industry is booming, but for myself and thousands of workers like me who manufacture parts for these huge companies, our paychecks are more comparable to fast food wages as opposed to being a pathway to like the middle-class. so as president, what would you do not only to bring up wages, but to keep these vital jobs in the united states? >> thank you very much for that very important question. there are two issues surrounding the question that you have asked if i might. number one, you are looking at a senator and former congressman who opposed every one of these disastrous trade agreements which have cost american workers millions of jobs. i could see from day one that these corporately written trade agreements were designed to allow corporations to shut down in america, throw people out on the street, go to mexico, go to china, pay people pen es an hour and then bring those products back into this country. one of the strong differences between secretary clinton and myself, she has supported almost all of those trade agreements i have vigorously opposed it. now you're raising another issue which gets little attention, and that is the race to the bottom. and the good news is that in the recent years we have been seeing the increase in the number of manufacturing jobs in america, and that is good. the bad news is that some of the jobs are now paying 50% or 60% of what these jobs used to pay. and the reason for that is corporations are saying, okay, well, we will bring back jobs, but you are going to have to take a significant pay cut, and if you do not, we will ship your company's jobs off to china or vietnam. all right. i will not only continue to oppose trade the agreements like the tpp which asked us to compete against people in vietnam who make 65 cents an hour minimum wage, but what we are going to do is to develop an entirely different process in terms of trade. tonight on cnn, there are going to be 30-second ads from all of the major corporations, and they are going to be saying, buy this product and buy that product. well, you know what, if they want us to buy those products, the time is long overdue for them to manufacture those products here in the united states, not in china. furthermore, furthermore, for all working people, we have got to recognize that the $7.25/hour minimum wage is a starvation wage. we are going to raise that minimum wage to 15 bucks an hour so that nobody in america works 40 hours, lives in poverty. [ applause ] >> senator sanders, senator, hope to see some of those ads on tv one, too. and now, right here, wayne carlson who is the dean of undergraduate students here at ohio state, and he says he is torn between you and secretary clinton. wayne? >> thank you very much for allowing me to be here. as dean of undergraduates, i am very, very much aware of the impact on our students of escalating costs and higher education particularly our disadvantaged students. i, myself, am a first-generation low-income student, and i financed my way are through college using federal grants and forgivable loans. i know, senator, that you are proposing free college for all. i don't quite understand how that's possible. senator, is there room for compromise on this issue? >> well, wayne, i am not proposing -- and very often it gets misunderstood. i am not proposing free college for all. what i am proposing is free tuition at public colleges and universities. that's what i'm proposing. and i am also proposing to substantially lower the outrageous level of student debt that millions of people in the country are currently carrying. why am i doing this? i am doing this because today, in many respects, the college degree is the equivalent of what a high school degree was 50 years ago. the world has changed. the economy has changed. people need more education. that is why i believe that we should make public colleges and universities tuition-free so that anybody in this country who has the ability, who has the qualifications will be able to get a college degree, regardless of the income of his or her family. and like you, i came from a family that didn't have a lot of money, and first generation to go to college, but i want every kid in this country who is in the sixth grade or the fourth grade to understand that if he or she studies hard, does well, they will be able to go to college regardless of the income of their family. and we are going to pay for that. and i will tell you how we will pay for this. i have been criticized, because it is an expensive proposition, it is. 70 billion bucks a year. some of you will remember that back in 2008 congress bailed out wall street after their greed and illegal behavior nearly destroyed our economy. i believe that we should impose a tax on wall street speculation. if we could bail out wall street, now it is wall street's time to help the the middle class of this country. [ applause ] >> senator sanders, i have heard from -- and obviously at tv one we target african-americans. and i have heard from a number of hbcu graduates who are very concerned about the plan, and we are at ohio state, but there are two hbcus in this state. wilberforce and central state. how would you ensure that your plan would not be the death knell of hbcus. >> i am 100% supportive. but if i remember hbcus are public. >> and half are private. >> and half are not, and i understand that for as relatively small number of colleges, they graduate a heck of a lot of african-american people. >> 300,000 students every year. >> huge role. i will do everything i can to make sure -- and we're not doing it now. let's be clear. i've talked to many presidents at black colleges. and they're struggling. i will do everything i can to fully support. we have legislation in that can protect not only hbcus but other nonprofit colleges who bring in a lot of low-income students. they are high on my agenda, and they should not feel threatened by this legislation. >> senator sanders, i want you to meet charles nobel. he's a program manager here at the ohio state university. he says he's still making up his mind on who to support this tuesday. >> thank you, senator, for taking my question. i am a director of a program called my brother's keeper, and we work with young blackmails all below the poverty line. there's been a lot of debate at the federal level related to where do we go with trade. in the last 15 years in south side of columbus, we have seen thousands of jobs gone due to plant foreclosure and seen economic disinvestment, rates of infant mortality, rates of child poverty, rates of educational attainment, so on and so forth in some areas of the south side are as bad as they are in third world countries. if leelected what would your administration going to do to ensure that international trade deals do more to promote growth on the south sides and areas like it? >> well, when i talk about the disastrous trade agreements -- and we have lost, since 2001, almost 60,000 factories. can you imagine that? 60,000 factories, millions of good-paying jobs. if you go to the department store, it is very hard to find something manufactured in the united states of america. we need to change that. when we talk about groups of people who have been hit, everybody has been hit. but the african-american community has actually been hit harder. if you are an african-american worker and you work in a factory and you have a union, you are doing pretty well. because you are making middle-class wages, but if you lose that factory, what are you doing? working in the mcdonald's, and working for $9 or $10 an hour, and so what we have got to do and we have to do a number of things economically to my mind. number one, we will develop an entirely new set of trade policies not written by corporate america for corporate america, all right. we are going to write trade policies that work for the working people of this country, and poor people abroad but not just for the multi national corporations. number two, as part of the overall economic investment policy, and we have talked about this with jesse jackson the other day, and we have to target our economic development into those communities who are most hard pressed. i know what is going on in ohio, i was in flint, michigan, a couple of weeks ago. you cannot believe what is going on. you talk about a third world country. you would think it was a fourth world country. and here is the main point that this campaign is about. people don't know it. we are the richest country in the history of the world. problem is that almost all of the new income and wealth is going to the top 1%. problem is we have the worst distribution of wealth of any major country on earth. i have spent my life taking on the billionaire class and the special interests. i will continue to do that, and we are going to create the economy that works for all of us not just a few, and we are going to invest in low income communities all over america. what is going on in areas of in columbus, areas all over this country is a national disgrace. together, we are going to change it. >> senator, let's talk about trade more broadly. [ applause ] >> yes. >> you were and remain a strong opponent of nafta. >> yes. >> and exports are a big part of the ohio economy and more than half of ohio exports go to the two countries affected by nafta other than the united states, canada and mexico. what do you tell a skeptical ohioan about how your trade policies won't hurt them? >> well, look, jake. we live in a global economy, and everybody understands that trade is a positive thing. nobody is talking about building a wall around the united states. of course, we are going to trade. oh, i beg your pardon, there is one guy who is talking about building a wall. [ applause ] let me rephrase, no rational person is talking about building a wall. [ cheers and applause ] so of course we're going to do trade. but trade policies have got to be policies that work for the people of our country. i will work very hard to expand agricultural exports, expand manufacturing exports, but they have to be based around a principle not of unfettered free trade where the american workers are working against people around the world who make pennies an hour with you fair trade. and that's the trade policy. >> stay with us. and we will be right back with more questions. you are watching the democratic presidential town hall live from columbus, ohio. ♪ the exact moment you know you love a home, you should be able to get approved to buy it. ♪ well, staples has low prices and a price match guarantee. i took a body language class once and the way you're standing could mean you're hiding something. oh! uh, staples has low prices. okay, now you're shouting... 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[ applause ] number two. a lot of the analyses of our proposals, our tax proposals have forgotten to include our medicare for all health care program. and what medicare for all will do is provide health care to every man, woman and child without having to pay premiums to the insurance companies and very substantially lower the cost of prescription drugs. i believe that is the direction that we should go in. so, to answer your question, yes, i believe that the wealthiest people and the largest corporations should be asked to pay their fair share. we are going to protect the middle-class of this country, and we are going to address massive levels of income and wealth inequality, and the disinvestment that we are seeing in communities throughout this country. >> well, senator -- [ applause ] thank you, since i have a brother and two sisters who are teachers and one a teacher's aide, let's go to a teach perf we have caitlin don who teaches here and saw the inequities in the american school system. she says she's undecided. so you have a shot. go for it. >> i will work for it. >> and so thank you for taking my question. an article was released in the columbus dispatch friday releasing the top student gains from around the state of ohio. of these one-third of those schools producing the results were charters right here in columbus, ohio. so, knowing this and also having similar narratives from across the country, do you think that charter schools are a viable way to educate children in low-income communities or do you think that you would continue as president giving money to traditional public schools? >> i believe in public education, and i believe in public charter schools. [ applause ] i do not believe in private -- privately controlled charter schools. [ applause ] and i'll tell you what else i believe. i believe that when we talk about education as a nation, we have got to make education not just rhetorically, but in reality one of the great priorities facing our country. i got a little bit tired of hearing about all the great football players and the millions of dollars a year they make. maybe we should talk about the great teachers in the country and make sure that they can earn a good wage. [ applause ] and let me also say, if i can build on your question, you know, when we talk about national priorities, and when we talk about a proliferation of millionaires and billionaires while half of the kids in public schools in america are on free or reduced lunch, let's talk about an issue that nobody ever talks about. and that the dysfunctional child care system we have in america. every psychologist who studies the issue knows that zero through four are the most important years for intellectual and emotional development, and yet we have child care workers who are making $9 or $10 an hour without any benefits. i intend to do everything that i can to create a first-class national child care system with well paid, well trained teachers so that the all of our little kids get a start in life that is worthy of children in the united states of america. >> senator sanders -- [ applause ] i listened to your answer about charter schools and not supporting private charters. >> yes. >> but we use the taxpayer dollars in the form of grants for folks to go to private colleges. we did a poll on tvone with rolandmartin.com and nearly 80% of black parents said they support charters, they support vouchers. many democrats don't. explain to me how we can support tax dollars for private colleges but we don't believe in school choice for folks in elementary, middle and high school? >> i think there is a difference. >> and that is? >> the difference is that right now public schools all over this country are being defunded. and money is leaving the public school system. and you may want to argue many with me, and it's a good debate, but i happen to believe that public schools, the ideas of neighborhood schools, people from different economic levels, rich and poor and middle class coming together, that's one of the reasons that we created the kind of great nation that we have. so, we are going to do everything that we can to support public education, and support experimentation in public education. in my city of burlington, vermont, we have started some great public -- i don't know what they're called, charter schools. one is into -- one is -- well, i forgot what it is. >> magnet school? >> yeah, magnet type schools and they're doing a great job. and i want to see the experimentation, but i do not want to see the money leave the public schools. >> all right. senator sanders, i want you to meet a doctor from dublin, ohio, who says that he is undecided, but leaning towards secretary clinton. doctor? >> welcome to columbus. i'm a son of immigrants, and my parents, both citizens now have done very well in this great country. and so have i. but as a 1% ethnic and religious minority witnessing the rise of donald trump for the first time my family has start feeling a little uncomfortable here. and frankly, a little bit scared. if donald trump secures the republican nomination, i am going to have one mission heading to the ballot box which is to keep him from taking office. which democratic candidate is going to be better at helping me do that? >> good, good. >> someone who cannot just condemn him, which is easy, but defeat him. >> good. good question. >> and, and other than the usual negative rhetoric and attack ads, none of which have worked so far, what are three specific points of your anti-trump game plan? >> okay. first off, thank you more the question. [ applause ] you know, a lot of criticisms are thrown at me, and this is natural in politics, but one that i resent is that, well, bernie, you are a nice guy, and i like your ideas, but you can't win the general election. so let me deal with that. take a look at virtually every national poll that has been done. take a look at the nbc/"wall street journal" poll of two or three days ago. bernie sanders was defeating donald trump by 18 points. [ applause ] in fact, by all of -- in virtually, not all but virtually all of those polls my margin over trump is wider than secretary clinton's. if you look at statewide polls, and the polls done in michigan a week or two ago, i was 19 points ahead of trump, and in new hampshire, i think 19 points as well. so first point, i think that if you look at the polling, i am the strongest democratic candidate to beat donald trump. second point is republicans win when the voter turnout is low. i think any objective assessment of the current campaign, and we have just had a rally here in columbus a few hours ago, and we had 7,000 people out, and we have had 25,000 or 28,000 people out at the rallies, and any objective assessment of this this campaign will suggest that the excitement and the energy for large voter turnouts is with the bernie sanders' campaign. third point to answer your question. the way that you beat trump is to expose him. and he can be exposed at many, many levels, and not the least of which, this is a guy who is a billionaire but doesn't think we should raise the minimum wage above $7.25 an hour. and this is a guy who goes on a republican dv debate and says wages in america are too low. tell that to the people in ohio that wages are too low. this is a guy who believes in defiance of all science that climate change is a hoax. and then of course, on top of all of that is the issue that you raised, the american people are not going to elect a president who is insulting mexicans, muslims, women, veterans -- insulting virtually everybody who is not quite like donald trump. thank god, most people are not quite like donald trump. and by the way -- [ applause ] by the way, just as an addition, i don't want anybody here to forget that donald trump was one of the leaders of the so-called birther movement. and what that movement was about was a very, very deep attack on the legitimacy of the presidency of barack obama. that was a real assault. it wasn't saying i disagree with obama. that's fine. what he was saying was that barack obama does not have the right to be president. he wasn't born in america. that is an insult not only to the african-american community, but it is an insult to every one of us who voted and supported barack obama. >> senator, i want you to meet crystal early, who is a mother and an advocate who helps people struggling with addiction. she said she is supporting you on tuesday, but she has this question. >> hi. i was addicted to heroin for over 12 years, and trying to raise my two small children, and oftentimes taking my youngest with me to buy heroin daily and it became my main goal every day. i am in recovery now, lucky not to be in prison. and what my question is is what you plan to do with the failed drug policy that tends to want to incarcerate addicts instead of rehabilitate them? >> thank you. [ applause ] if you were at the rally we held just a few hours ago, what you would have heard me say, and what i say all of the time is that today in america we have, in my state, in neighboring new hampshire and all over this country, a massive crisis in heroin addiction and overdosing and opiate addiction as well. what we have got to do is to fundamentally rethink the so-called war on drugs which has been a failure. we have got to look at substance abuse and addiction as a health issue, not a criminal issue. locking up addicts is not going to solve the problem. [ applause ] and frankly, frankly, in terms of the broader issues of mental health in this country, we are filing and failing badly. it is not only that we are not providing the treatment that addicts and abusers need when they need it, we have thousands of people who are walking the streets of america today, and you talk about the horrific mass killings, and you have people walking the streets today who are suicidal and who are homicidal and they call up my office or the senators' offices, and families cannot find the treatment that those people need. mental health is part of health care. we need a revolution in providing mental health treatment to the people who need it in this country. >> thank you so much, senator. we will be right back after this quick break, and we will have more questions for senator sanders. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ geico motorcycle, great rates for great rides. whewhat does it look like?ss, is it becoming a better professor by being a more adventurous student? is it one day giving your daughter the opportunity she deserves? is it finally witnessing all the artistic wonders of the natural world? whatever your definition of success is, helping you pursue it, is ours. t-i-a-a. some people get to travel for work. free wifi. pretty sweet. hey you look like you could use a pick me up, do you want a macchiato? i think we can expense it. (vo) sometimes it's the little things that make a big difference. courtyard, make room for a little fun. i'd love to get a round of golf in while we are out here. did you bring your sticks? with extraordinary offersmance saon the visionary ls, the generously appointed es and the new, eight-passenger lx. ♪ this is the pursuit of perfection. when you're on hold, your business is on hold. that's why comcast business doesn't leave you there. when you call, a small business expert will answer you in about 30 seconds. no annoying hold music. just a real person, real fast. whenever you need them. great, that's what i said. so your business can get back to business. sounds like my ride's ready. don't get stuck on hold. reach an expert fast. comcast business. built for business. hey, folks, welcome back to the cnn/tv one democratic presidential town hall in the auditorium here at columbus, ohio. we're here with senator bernie sanders. let's continue with our questions. and so we have ann mercher right here. she's a chef. so is my brother. i don't know what's up with these tie-ins. he's leaning towards you. see if you can seal the deal. >> okay. >> senator, i am opening up a small independent restaurant not far from here this summer. while a citizen i'm 100% behind your populist message but i have questions as an entrepreneur. what will the taxes for small business look like under your administration? >> after you add up the fact that you will not have to provide health insurance for your employees or for yourself, you will be a lot better off. small and medium-sized and large businesses in this country are being crippled by the huge amounts of money that they are now spending on health care. and the amount of time that they are spending trying to figure out what type of health insurance program works for their employees. i want you to think about your business and having health insurance for you and your families and your employees which is publicly funded which is the case in every other major country on earth. what will that do for your business, make it a little easier? so to be honest, you will pay a little bit more in taxes. you will pay a little bit more in taxes, but the savings will be in total much greater by the reduction -- by the fact that you're not going to have to pay private health insurance premium. you and every other small businessman in this country will be better off under my plan. [ applause ] >> and now, considering that black women start businesses at a faster rate than anybody in the country, that's good news. and now, we go to misty jordan from radio one here in columbus, ohio, and we call that family. >> good evening. i'm thrilled to be here. my question for you is what will you do different than president obama to move your agenda forward if there's no change in congressional power? >> good question. >> thank you. >> and for start, if i become president, it will mean that there will be a significant increase in the voter turnout. in every caucus and primary that we have won, we have won nine so far, and we think that we have a chance to win here in ohio. [ applause ] in every instance including michigan last week the turnout was great. so what we are doing is to creating large voter turnouts. if there is a large voter turnout, there's no doubt in my mind that the democrats will recover the united states senate and gain significant seats in the house. all right. that's number one. number two, and maybe more importantly, the whole premise of my campaign -- you're saying how do we get things done really. the premise and essence of my campaign is the belief, which i know to be true, because i work in washington, d.c., that most of the members of congress feel themselves indebted to their large campaign contributors rather than to the people they represent. on all of the issues that i am fighting for, raising the minimum wage, health care for all, making public colleges and universities tuition free, and pay equity for women, and dealing with the climate change, and by the way, we don't talk enough about climate change. that's what the american people want, but you have republicans who are moving in the opposite direction. what i have said over and over again, no president, not bernie sanders or anybody else can do it alone. wall street is too powerful. corporate america is too powerful, and large campaign contributors. the only way we really transform this country, and that is the history of the workers movement and unions, the history of the civil rights movement, the history of the women's movement, the history of the gay movement is when people stand up by the millions and fight back and tell congress they're going to have to represent all of us not just the 1%. we do that, we'll have a progressive agenda. >> all right. folks, the final question question for bernie sanders. after this short break. it takes a lot of work... to run this business. i'm on the move all day long... and sometimes, i just don't eat the way i should. so i drink boost to get the nutrition that i'm missing. boost complete nutritional drink has 26 essential vitamins and minerals, including calcium and vitamin d to support strong bones and 10 grams of protein to help maintain muscle. all with a great taste. i don't plan on slowing down any time soon. stay strong. stay active with boost. now try new boost® compact and 100 calories. hey how's it going, hotcakes? hotcakes. this place has hotcakes. so why aren't they selling like hotcakes? with comcast business internet and wifi pro, they could be. just add a customized message to your wifi pro splash page and you'll reach your customers where their eyes are already - on their devices. order up. it's more than just wifi, it can help grow your business. you don't see that every day. introducing wifi pro, wifi that helps grow your business. comcast business. built for business. welcome back to the ohio state university in columbus. we are talking with vermont senator bernie sanders. senator sanders, as you know in these town halls towards the end of them, we like to ask some questions so the audience can get to know you a little bit better. you are still relatively new on the national scene, and one question that i think that people might be interested in hearing is that we all know that you are very close with your wife jane and your family, but who are your friends? if you got nationals tickets in washington one day and say jane was out of town, who would you invite? >> well, we have some close friends, many who work with me in my office who i have known for years. my campaign manager is somebody who started working for me when he was 18 years of age. doing a great job running this campaign. so the people that i work with are often my closest friends, and back in burlington, i have some very dear friends who i have been close to for 30 or 40 years. >> as you know, washington works well when people in washington from both sides of the aisle know each other, work well together. who is the person who is closest to you with whom you disagree the most on politics? >> republican we're talking about? you see, the irony here -- and this is not even funny. if i told you the republicans that i liked the most, it would probably ruin his political career. >> do it! >> there is a 30-second ad, sanders said he likes this person, and he is finished. >> who is it? >> i'll give you an example. one of the most conservative members of the senate is a fellow named jim inhofe from oklahoma. and jim is a climate change denigher. he's a decent guy and i like him. and you find that. you find the fact that just because you have very significant political differences doesn't mean to say that you cannot develop friendships with good people. >> and lastly, senator, this is an enormous undertaking that you are in the middle of right now. has this experience running for president changed you, and if so, how has it changed you? >> how has it changed me? go. yes, it has profoundly changed me. i come from a small state, and i love my state so much, and i'm so proud to represent vermont in the senate. but when you go around the country, you meet so many extraordinary people. almost at every rally that we do, we usually do what we call a clutch, where we bring local people together. you meet people from the latino community and you hear their experiences. i remember in phoenix talking to a young teenaged girls with tears, literally tears rolling down her eyes fearful about somebody in her family being deported. somebody from her family being deported, and that makes you fight that much more for real immigration reform. we meet with people from the native american community, extraordinary people whom we have treated so shabbily over the year, and you learn about their culture, and the one regret i have, and it is the nature of the campaigns is that you don't have the time to spend with people and go around the state. you know, you go in there and give a speech and you go to the hotel and you're off for five speeches the next day. but i have met extraordinary people, and i have seen so many young people who are optimistic about the future of this country and are prepared to fight to make sure that this country becomes all that it can become. all of that is extremely gratifying to me, and at the end

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