Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders speaks with 6abc Action News
WEST PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders waded into Philadelphia politics during and after a discussion in West Philadelphia on Friday.
He called Mayor Kenney's proposed soda tax "regressive" and unfair to the poor, but also lauded the mayor for trying to expand pre-K.
So, who should pay?
"I'm not going to get into Philadelphia politics, but as President of the United States we are going to raise taxes on the 1 percent," said Sanders.
Winning Pennsylvania will be a tall task for Sanders. Hillary Clinton won it back in 2008 when she first ran for president, and her husband won it twice on his way to the White House.
When asked why he is bothering to campaign in Pennsylvania, Sanders told us, "Bernie Sanders has now won 17 states in this election so far for the Democratic nomination. We started off 60 points behind."
Mostly everyone had predicted Hillary Clinton would steamroll her way to the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia this summer.
Sanders has stood in her way, time and time again.
Clinton herself compared his candidacy to hers in 2008, when she eventually stepped aside and supported Barack Obama.
"Well that's not gonna happen. I am in this race until the end," said Sanders. "I believe it is good for the party to have a vigorous debate, that we bring more people into the process."
While speaking with Sanders, we told him homicides in the city are up 16 percent from this time last year.
And that violence against police continues, with the wounding of an officer earlier this week.
"What we want to do is understand why there is so much crime, and that is directly related to the fact that in this city, and in many other cities around America, we have unemployment rates for young kids of 40, 50 or 60 percent," said Sanders.
Sanders' support among African Americans has been soft, but you wouldn't know it at a rally on Friday. Those in attendance were wearing T-shirts that read, "Black men for Bernie."
"All of our young people who have the ability and the desire are able to get a college education regardless of their income," said Sanders.
Everything about Sanders' campaign has shocked the pundits - winning more than a dozen primaries, being competitive in national polls, having made it this late into the primary season.
We wondered if even the candidate himself had been taken off guard.
"I thought from the beginning that we had a chance to win," said Sanders. "Because I thought we had a message that was resonating."
Beating the former secretary of state in a place she has done so well would shock political observers across the country, just like they've been shocked so many times before in this 2016 White House race.
