U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, Vermont independent and former presidential candidate, kicked off his “Fighting Oligarchy: Where We Go From Here” tour in Omaha on Friday. Feb. 22, 2025. (Jamie Reiff/Nebraska News Service)
OMAHA – U.S. Sen Bernie Sanders kicked off his “Fighting Oligarchy” nationwide tour in Omaha Friday night, drawing an overflow crowd of more than 2,500, with hundreds more turned away.
The progressive independent from Vermont spoke to supporters about what he said is division in the United States under the leadership of President Donald Trump and billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk of the Department of Government Efficiency.
Sanders said he chose Omaha as his first tour stop because of its working-class voters who were swayed toward Republican candidates in the 2024 election. The former presidential candidate said he wants to encourage people, similar to those living in the Omaha-based 2nd Congressional District, to recognize policies that could hurt them and their livelihoods.
He said that 60% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck while rich people are receiving tax cuts.
His tour continues Saturday in Iowa, aimed at promoting democracy and encouraging the working class to stand up to signs of oligarchy.
“We are living in two Americas,” said Sanders. “What we do now will impact our lives. [Americans] need a grassroots movement that says no to oligarchy.”
‘I needed hope’
Kitty Brougham, 65, of Omaha was among those cheering at the Omaha Marriott Downtown at the Capitol District.
She said she wanted to attend the event because she was losing hope. She is the mother of Sammie Peterson, 24, a transgender woman, and is worried for her future.
“I am watching my country be taken away from me,” said Brougham. “I needed hope.”
Sanders’ call to stand up inspired Peterson as well. She said she has not been very politically active in the past but feels that now is the time. As she worries for her future, she finds the ability to speak out.
Sanders spoke for about 30 minutes, at one point reciting the Gettysburg Address and reminding supporters that America was built on pushback against oligarchs. He encouraged people to speak up and said they are stronger when they come together — regardless of political party.
Originally set for the Laborers International Union building, the event was moved to the larger Marriott to accommodate a turnout estimated at 2,580 in the ballroom and two overflow rooms. Organizers said hundreds of others were turned away due to space constraints.
Alexander Beavers, 13, a middle school student from Omaha, was with his family cheering from the front row.
“Trump already ruined the state,” said Beavers.
The teen said his family came to stand against Musk’s DOGE — and for immigrants, abortion and women’s rights.
Sabrina Larson, 36, and her baby Berkley were in town for a state wrestling tournament and she wanted to hear what Sanders had to say about agricultural policies. Larson, of the Raymond area of Lancaster County, works for a livestock company and worries that Trump’s policies could harm the farming community in Nebraska.
Iris Evans, 80, from Council Bluffs has been a Democrat since Bill Clinton was president. She expressed anger about the current administration’s way of leadership.
“I want to see a movement to get rid of Trump … I am angry,” said a tearful Evans. “They took my world away and I want it back. I am here because I care about our country. I pray for our country every single night.”
‘Dangerous divide’
Before Sanders took the stage, Eric Williams, Omaha Public Power District board member, Precious McKesson, executive director of the Nebraska Democratic Party, and Ron Kaminski, business manager for the Laborers International Union Local #1140, spoke about how policies coming out of Washington D.C. create a “dangerous divide” between the nation’s richer population and the working class.
As the crowd chanted Sanders’ name, the lawmaker took the stage and spoke about how Trump’s actions reflected those of oligarchs. He spoke about how Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and other billionaires are receiving tax cuts while working-class Americans pay to make up for them.
Sanders also spoke about how many in power do not understand what it is like to struggle, recounting his childhood living in a rent-controlled apartment.
No stranger to Nebraska, Sanders has visited as a presidential candidate and high-profile draw for progressives.
U.S. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., has won the slightly right-leaning 2nd District five times despite its recent blue tilt in presidential races. The 2nd District voted for Biden in 2020 and for Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024 after having voted for Trump in 2016 and Mitt Romney in 2012.
That matters in Nebraska because the state, unusual nationally except for Maine, splits up its Electoral College votes, awarding a single vote to the winner of the presidential popular vote in each congressional district and two votes to the winner statewide, which in 2024 was Trump.
Gov. Jim Pillen and some conservative lawmakers in Nebraska’s officially nonpartisan but Republican-controlled Unicameral Legislature are trying to shift the state to winner-take-all to reduce the chances of the red-led state continuing to split off a vote from the so-called “blue dot.”
‘Fed up’
Kaminski reminded Congressional District 2 that their votes and voices matter. The labor union leader encouraged Republicans and Democrats alike to come together and vote against policies that could harm their daily lives.
“Everything that he has been doing has a direct effect on working-class people in this district and I think people are waking up,” said Kaminski.
He encouraged people to remember that Americans should look out for each other and work together to build a better future for themselves and others.
People are “fed up” and ready to “stand up for what’s important, Kaminski said. That is being able to afford food at the end of the week, afford rent, a mortgage and health insurance, he added.
“All those things have increased,” said Kaminski. “I don’t see a change that is benefitting the working people.”
Reiff produced this story for the Nebraska News Service, a news outlet based at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
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