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Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and his progressive allies sought to mobilize their young supporters Tuesday at a rally on the campus of Texas State University, where they urged a crowd of several hundred to set aside their reservations about Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris.

Sanders, acknowledging that some of his followers were dismayed by Harris’ support for Israel in the war in Gaza, framed the idea of voting for Harris as an ad hoc solution to keep Republican Donald Trump out of the White House and “retain the foundations of American democracy.”

“Short term, let us elect Kamala Harris as president,” Sanders said. “Long term, let us work together to transform this country and create a nation that works for all, not just the few.”

Sanders visited the Texas State campus in San Marcos as part of a three-day swing through the state, bookended by rallies in San Antonio and Austin. He was joined Tuesday by New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rep. Greg Casar of San Antonio and former El Paso congressman Beto O’Rourke.

The progressive leaders also urged the crowd of students to back U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas, in his campaign to topple Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz. Sanders did not mention Allred while onstage, but in an interview before the rally, he said Allred could play a critical role in deciding the balance of the narrowly divided Senate.

“It will make all the difference in the world if Colin is elected to the Senate,” Sanders said. “He’ll give us a chance to control the Senate and begin to pass legislation that benefits working people. So I very much hope that he wins.”

Allred did not attend Tuesday’s rally and was not scheduled to join any of Sanders’ other stops along the I-35 corridor this week. Sanders, asked why he was not teaming up with Allred or other Democrats in battleground races on the trip, said he did not want to “get involved in internal Texas politics.” He added that the main goal of his visit was to turn out young voters, especially those who have never voted before, and encourage his supporters to set aside whatever objections they might have over Harris’ approach to Gaza.

“Texas has the potential to become a progressive state,” Sanders said. “But that requires young people, working class people, to stand up against corporate greed, to help us create an economy that works for all and not just the few.”

Though Cruz remains the favorite to win a third term, signs have emerged in recent weeks that the race is competitive. A string of statewide polls have found that Allred is within striking distance of Cruz, and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee last week included Allred in a “multimillion dollar” television ad spending spree. Two leading elections forecasters have recently shifted their outlook for the race from “likely Republican” to “lean Republican.”

In his Senate bid, Allred has courted moderate and independent voters, adopting a platform that includes protecting oil and gas jobs and taking a more incremental approach to expanding health care access than Sanders advocates through his push for a single-payer system. Allred has also run ads that portray him as “tough” on the border and emphasize his willingness to work across the aisle — a clear contrast to Sanders’ unabashed progressivism.

Harris has also taken a more moderate approach to the border, vowing to continue President Joe Biden’s asylum crackdown and intensify the prosecution of illegal border crossings. She has signaled plans to continue on much the same course as Biden on Gaza, saying she would “always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself.”

Sanders, who retains legions of loyal followers from his two presidential runs, said it was imperative for disillusioned progressives to consider Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election — and all the common ground they share with Harris on areas like climate change, abortion rights and taking on “the growing oligarchy in America.”

“I strongly disagree with them on their approach toward Gaza, for example, and other areas,” Sanders said of Harris and Biden. “But what maturity requires is to understand that what we are fighting for is not just this or that policy. It is whether or not we retain the foundations of American democracy.”

Casar joined the call for progressive voters to mobilize, arguing they could help shape the course of a future Harris administration by guiding her to the left on areas where they disagree. He noted that Texas State’s most famous alumnus, former President Lyndon B. Johnson, was influenced by shifting political tides to set aside his decades-long conservative record and fight for an ambitious progressive agenda as president.

“It was your own alumnus, LBJ, who not only was a Texas president, but got pushed by Texas young people and activists to sign the Civil Rights Act, to sign the Voting Rights Act, to create Medicaid and Medicare and [the] Head Start [early childhood education program],” said Casar, a former Austin City Council member who backs Sanders’ agenda. “That’s the real Texas, y’all.”

Ocasio-Cortez also invoked the wave of young activists who led protests rebelling against the Johnson-led Vietnam War, likening it to the current situation in Gaza.

“We have to send that message, when we deliver these victories, that we will not be entrenched in another generation of conflict and violence,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “We have to learn from that legacy. We are going to elect these leaders, and then we’re going to demand that that will not happen again. It cannot happen again.”

Ahead of Sanders’ San Marcos rally, some Texas Republicans responded gleefully to news of the visit and suggested the avowed democratic socialist’s presence could end up hurting Allred by mobilizing conservative opposition.

“Does Senator Cruz have to report that as an in-kind contribution on his campaign finance report?” GOP consultant Derek Ryan jokingly posted on social media.

Sanders, asked about the idea that his visit could backfire, said the policies he supports — and is talking about at his rallies — are broadly supported in Texas, including raising the minimum wage, tackling wealth inequality and treating health care like a human right.

“I think if you listen to the issues that I will be talking about, those are issues supported by the people of Texas, the people of Vermont and people all across this country,” Sanders said. “People are sick and tired of seeing the billionaire class make out like bandits.”

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