He stood there in the Grand Ballroom of the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center, looking exactly like you’d expect. Hair a mess. Voice raspy. Hands gesturing wildly at a crowd of over 3,000 people. It was August 9, 2025, and Bernie Sanders was back in West Virginia.
You might wonder why a democratic socialist from Vermont spends so much time in one of the reddest states in the union. Honestly, it’s a fair question. West Virginia went for Donald Trump by massive margins in 2016, 2020, and 2024. Yet, when Sanders rolls into town—whether it's Charleston, Wheeling, or a tiny coal town like Lenore—the rooms are almost always packed.
His latest visit was part of the Fighting Oligarchy: Where We Go From Here tour. It wasn't just a political rally; it felt more like a town hall meeting mixed with a revival. He talked about the things that keep people up at night in Kanawha County: the cost of groceries, the price of insulin, and the feeling that "the big guys" are winning while everyone else is just trying to keep their head above water.
What happened at the Bernie Sanders Charleston WV rally?
The event at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center (the old Civic Center for those of us who still call it that) was the 17th stop on his national tour. People started lining up hours before the doors opened at 3:30 p.m. By the time the music started—provided by a local group called Whistle & Fish—the energy was electric.
Sanders didn't just talk about national politics. He leaned into the shared struggles between his home state and West Virginia. "In Vermont, we’re struggling with inadequate wages. That’s what you are facing here," he told the crowd. He wasn't lecturing. He was connecting.
He was joined by local voices like Marie Gunnoe, JoAnne Vance, and Morgan Fowler. These aren't DC insiders. They’re people who live here, work here, and see the impact of policy on the ground. Having them on stage with him changed the vibe. It made the "oligarchy" talk feel less like a textbook definition and more like a conversation about why the local pharmacy just closed or why the water isn't clean.
- The Crowd: Over 3,000 people in Charleston.
- The Themes: Corporate greed, healthcare costs, and "fighting the move toward authoritarianism."
- The Gaza Protest: Outside the venue, a group gathered at 5:00 p.m. to call for an end to the famine in Gaza, a topic Sanders addressed during his speech as part of a broader critique of U.S. foreign policy.
The McDowell County Mystery and the "Street" Town Hall
You can't talk about Bernie Sanders in West Virginia without mentioning his 2017 visit. That’s the one that really cemented his "folk hero" status for some and "agitator" status for others. He had planned a town hall in Welch, McDowell County, with MSNBC. At the last minute, the National Guard armory pulled the permit, citing Department of Defense policies against political events.
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Sanders didn't just cancel. He famously said if he couldn't find a building, he’d hold the meeting in the streets. He ended up finding a spot, and he’s been talking about the "dignity and courage" of the people in McDowell County ever since.
In his 2025 Charleston speech, he referenced those rural communities again. He had just come from Lenore in Mingo County, a town of about 1,300 people where Trump won 74% of the vote. Sanders told the Charleston crowd that the working class in Lenore knows it's "absurd to slash Medicaid and SNAP to give tax breaks to billionaires."
Why the GOP isn't buying it
Not everyone was rolling out the red carpet. The West Virginia Republican Party was pretty vocal about their distaste for the visit. State GOP Chairman Josh Holstein didn't mince words, calling Sanders an "out-of-touch" millionaire.
The Republican argument is straightforward: Sanders' policies on fossil fuels have "crippled" rural communities. They point to his support for climate regulations that they say shuttered coal plants and destroyed jobs. To them, Sanders coming to the southern coalfields to talk about "the working man" is, in their words, "laughable."
There’s a real tension there. On one hand, you have thousands of people in Charleston cheering for universal healthcare and higher minimum wages. On the other, you have a state that has pivoted hard toward the Republican platform because they feel the Democratic Party (and even independents like Bernie) abandoned the industries that built the state.
The "Democrats Lost It" Theory
One of the most interesting things Sanders said during his 2025 West Virginia tour was that Republicans didn't win West Virginia—Democrats lost it.
He’s arguing that by moving away from "bread and butter" economic issues, the Democratic establishment left a vacuum that the GOP filled. It’s a bold claim in a state where the GOP now has over 500,000 registered voters, a massive shift from just a decade ago when Democrats held the advantage.
State Delegate Mike Pushkin, who chairs the WV Democratic Party, welcomed the visit even though the party didn't officially sponsor it. His take? Sanders does something the Republican congressional delegation often avoids: he takes questions directly from the public in unscripted settings.
Actionable insights for West Virginians
Regardless of where you land on the political spectrum, the Bernie Sanders Charleston WV events highlight a few things you can actually do if you want to be more involved in the process:
- Attend local town halls: Even if you disagree with the speaker, these events are one of the few places where you can hear local organizers like those from Bluejay Rising or the WV Citizen Action Group talk about specific state issues.
- Look beyond the "R" and "D": Sanders' success in a deep-red state suggests there is a hunger for economic discussion that doesn't always fit neatly into a party platform. Read the actual bills being discussed—like the "Big, Beautiful Bill" he referenced—to see how they impact your specific county.
- Support local labor history: If you're interested in why Sanders talks so much about Mingo County, look into the history of the United Mine Workers (UMWA) and the Battle of Blair Mountain. Understanding that history helps make sense of why a "socialist" message resonates in a "conservative" state.
- Register and show up: West Virginia’s voter registration landscape has changed dramatically. Whether you want to "resist the oligarchy" or "protect fossil fuels," the only way the national parties pay attention to the state is if the turnout numbers stay high.
Sanders might be from New England, but he’s figured out that the struggles in the Appalachian hills aren't that different from the struggles in the Green Mountains. He left Charleston on a Saturday night, but the conversation he started about who really holds the power in West Virginia isn't going away anytime soon.
Next Steps for You:
If you want to dive deeper into the local impact of these policies, check out the latest reports from the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy. They break down how federal tax changes and healthcare subsidies specifically affect Kanawha and Mingo counties. You can also look up the WV Citizen Action Group to find the next local town hall or community meeting happening in the Charleston area.