Bernie Sanders is the first presidential candidate to visit McDowell County, West Virginia, since John F. Kennedy visited in the early 1960s. The Vermont senator participated in a panel on poverty, in which approximately 250 people attended. The location visited was no coincidence. The rural area has some of the highest levels of poverty in the nation, with a typical income of just $23,607 per year, according to a study done by 24/7 Wall St.
Sanders spoke of the cycle of poverty, and how it often leads to drug use and addiction and vice versa. He laid out the cold, hard numbers as they apply to McDowell County and West Virginia overall.
"And McDowell County … is one of the poorest counties in one of the poorest states in America. In 2014, over 35 percent of the residents in McDowell County lived in poverty, including nearly half of the children under the age of 18. In McDowell County, not only is it hard to find a job … it's hard to find a grocery store, a dentist, a mental health provider, or a primary care physician."
The statistics he provided for the county alone are astounding.
Sanders also noted that in McDowell County, the leading causes of death are suicide and drug overdoses.
"In fact, the highest percentage of drug overdoses in West Virginia is in McDowell County. And McDowell has the lowest life expectancy in the entire nation. The average life expectancy for men in this county is just 64 years."