- Bernie Sanders says he's optimistic that Democrats can keep control of the Senate.
- Sanders told ABC 'This Week' that the reversal of Roe v. Wade could help Democrats.
- "I think that decision is going to reverberate very poorly for Republicans," he said.
Sen. Bernie Sanders said the Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade could help Democrats keep control of the Senate in the upcoming election.
"I think that what the Supreme Court did in saying to every woman in America, "You can't control your own body; your state government will make a decision on this most personal matter of an abortion, I think that the American people are saying, "Excuse me, in America, in the year 2022, women will make that decision," Sanders told ABC 'This Week' host George Stephanopoulos.
"And I think that decision is going to reverberate very poorly for Republicans who think that women do not have a right to control their own bodies."
—ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) August 28, 2022
Several states moved to ban or restrict abortion access following the overturn of the 1973 landmark decision.
Sanders added that he also thinks the gun violence seen throughout the summer will help Democrats in the mid-terms.
In May, 19 students and two teachers were fatally shot at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas; six people were killed at a mass shooting in Highland Park, Illinois; and 10 people were gunned down by a white gunman in a racist mass shooting in Buffalo, New York earlier this year. These mass shootings were part of over 300 to happen in the US this year.
"People understand, whether you're Democrats or Republicans, that we need common-sense gun safety legislation," Sanders said.
Sanders said these two issues could help Democrats win and have a more considerable majority in the Senate, where there is now a 50-50 split.
"So I think there is a reasonable chance that Democrats will retain control over the Senate. I certainly hope we get more than 50 in the Senate, that we get at least 52, so we can start going forward and protecting working people in a way we have not been able to do up to now," he said.