Bernie Sanders Returns to California to Push Billionaire Wealth Tax

Sanders will appear in San Francisco on Saturday and Los Angeles next Monday for the 'Ballots Over Billionaires' events, hosted by SEIU United Healthcare Workers West. He will be joined by Representative Ro Khanna and Jane Kim, a progressive candidate for California insurance commissioner. On Sunday, the senator plans to attend a canvass launch in Livermore with Representative Aisha Wahab before traveling to Bakersfield for a final rally.

The campaign for Proposition 40 has intensified as election day nears, with billionaire-backed groups pouring millions into efforts to defeat the measure. Opposition is broad, drawing criticism from outgoing Governor Gavin Newsom and both leading gubernatorial candidates, Xavier Becerra and Steve Hilton. Critics, including Silicon Valley figures like Google co-founder Sergey Brin, have funneled significant resources into the 'Building a Better California' campaign against the tax.

Recent polling from the Public Policy Institute of California indicates the initiative holds a narrow lead, with 52% of voters in favor compared to 46% opposed. Sanders has framed the tax as a necessary response to a rigged system, noting that the state's 200 billionaires hold a combined $2.2 trillion in wealth. He argues the revenue is critical to protecting healthcare access for millions of working-class Californians facing potential cuts under current federal policies.