Bernie Sanders returns to Iowa Feb. 23 for rally with Pete D'Alessandro

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders will return to Iowa next week for a rally with a former campaign aide who’s now running for Congress.

Sanders, the Vermont independent who ran for president in 2016, will headline an event for 3rd District Democratic candidate Pete D’Alessandro on Feb. 23 in Des Moines. It’ll be the senator’s first visit to Iowa this year and his third since the end of the 2016 campaign.

D’Alessandro was a top adviser to Sanders’ near-miss Iowa caucuses campaign in 2016 and received his endorsement late last month. He’s also been endorsed by Our Revolution, the organization that succeeded Sanders' presidential campaign.

SPECIAL OFFER: Get all the Register's content with a digital subscription for $9.99 a year

“Bernie knows that we need bold, progressive leaders in Congress if we’re going to change the direction of our country,” D’Alessandro said in a statement. “That’s why I’m proudly supporting Medicare for All, a $15/hour living wage, and free college tuition for those who work hard. We can take our country back and continue the movement Bernie started here in 2016.”

The Feb. 23 rally is free and open to the public, although the campaign is asking attendees to RSVP. It’ll be held at Curate, located at 322 E. Court Ave. in Des Moines’ East Village neighborhood. Doors open at 11 a.m. for the noon event.

D’Alessandro is one of six Democrats vying to challenge Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. David Young in Iowa’s 3rd District.

Beyond supporting a political ally, Sanders’ return to Des Moines is also likely to be read as another signal of his potential interest in running for president again in 2020. He headlined a convention of the liberal Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement group last summer and appeared in Iowa City for a stop on a book tour last fall.