“The Republicans won a huge victory yesterday,” Sen. Bernie Sanders said Wednesday morning after Republicans gained control of the Senate and strengthened their majority in the House. 

In a radio interview with Bill Press, the independent senator said it is important to try to understand the low voter turnout in the midterm elections.  “Why is that, Bill?  People are under so much economic pressure, the middle class is disappearing, poverty today is almost as high as it’s ever been and the gap between the very, very rich and everybody else is getting wider.  Why aren’t people coming out voting?  Why aren’t they standing up and fighting back for decent-paying jobs, for higher wages for better trade policy?” Sanders asked.

"Many of the people that voted Republican are going to be very surprised what comes up in the Senate in a couple of months," said Sanders. "They did not vote for cuts in Social Security and Medicare, but that’s what the Republicans will fight for. They did not vote for tax breaks for billionaires; but that’s what the Republicans will give them. They did not vote to ignore raising the minimum wage, but that’s what Republicans will do." 

“There is massive unhappiness and discontent with the political process and we’ve got to figure out how we reconnect with ordinary people,” he said.

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