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Coverage of the 2016 presidential election from NPR News and related blogs, including candidate profiles, interviews and talking points.On-air specials will also be broadcast as Election Day approaches, including the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary.WRVO also provides coverage of regional elections both on-air and online.

Sanders calls for nationwide fracking ban

Marguerite Jones
/
WSKG News
Sen. Bernie Sanders at a campaign rally in Binghamton Monday

As he began a two-day campaign swing through upstate New York, Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders spoke to a very enthusiastic crowd of around 3,000 at an armory in Albany. He got some of the biggest cheers when he called for nationwide ban on hydrofracking.

Sanders contrasted his stance on hydrofracking compared to that of Democratic rival Hillary Clinton. The senator from Vermont now says he wants to ban the natural gas extraction process nationwide. Clinton wants to strictly regulate fracking. New York has already banned fracking, and Sanders credited those in the crowd for “having the guts” to convince Gov. Andrew Cuomo to do so.

“We need to put an end to fracking, not only in New York and Vermont, but for every state in the country,” Sanders to enthusiastic applause.

The Sanders campaign is also airing a TV ad calling attention to the senator’s call for a total fracking ban.

Sanders compared his record on the Iraq war to Clinton’s, saying she voted for the war, while he voted against it. He also received loud cheers when he told the mostly youthful audience of his plans for free college tuition and ways to drastically cut student debt. 

Sanders spoke in Binghamton, Albany and Buffalo Monday. He will be in Rochester and then in Syracuse on Tuesday.

Karen DeWitt is Capitol Bureau Chief for New York State Public Radio, a network of 10 public radio stations in New York State. She has covered state government and politics for the network since 1990.