WATCH: Bernie Sanders speaks in West Virginia to “fight oligarchy”

The West Virginia Republican Party released a statement ahead of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ visit to the Mountain State.

The party said it welcomes Sanders to West Virginia and encourages him to listen to the communities impacted by his policies.

“We hope that socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders enjoys his visit to West Virginia, a state that overwhelmingly supports the Make America Great Again agenda of President Donald Trump,” said Chairman Josh Holstein. “The West Virginia Republican Party recognizes that Sanders represents everything that the vast majority of West Virginians stand against.”

The party called Sanders a self-avowed socialist and a failed presidential candidate. It claimed Sanders has spent years attacking fossil fuels and working to dismantle the coal industry that has long powered West Virginia’s economy.

“It is extremely rich that Sanders will visit the southern coalfields of our state — people whose jobs he called on ending and that were permanently lost, and communities still reeling from the devastation he helped inflict during the Obama and Biden administrations. His long record of hostility toward the industries that built this state is well known. I’m hopeful he will use his time here as an opportunity to hear firsthand how his anti-energy, anti-blue collar worker agenda has harmed our people,” Holstein said.

The party also said Sanders’ out-of-touch ideology does not stop at energy policy, saying he consistently opposes the values that define West Virginia — from advocating sweeping gun control measures that target law-abiding citizens to voting against securing borders, no tax on tips, overtime and Social Security.

“For decades, Democrats in West Virginia attempted to distance themselves from the far left of their party. Today, by celebrating Sanders, they are no longer hiding the fact that they are grossly out of touch with the average West Virginian,” Holstein said.

Sanders, an independent from Vermont and the longest-serving independent in congressional history, will appear in Wheeling on Friday, Aug. 8, for a public speaking event, “Fighting Oligarchy: Where We Go From Here.” The event will be held at the Capitol Theatre, with doors opening at 3:30 p.m. and the program beginning at 6 p.m.

In a statement released ahead of the visit, Sanders said his message is aimed at Americans nationwide, including traditionally conservative and rural communities.

“This weekend I’ll be heading to West Virginia and North Carolina, including some really rural spots in West Virginia. Why am I doing that? Because I believe from the bottom of my heart, that whether you are in a red state, whether you’re in a blue state or a purple state, the American people do not want to see massive tax breaks for billionaires and cuts to Medicaid, education and nutrition,” Sanders said.

“Now is the time — I don’t care what part of the country you’re in — that people have got to stand together and fight back, and demand an economy and legislation which works for all, not just wealthy campaign contributors.”

According to event organizers, Sanders is expected to focus heavily on what he calls the corporate takeover of the U.S. government and the harmful effects of what he has labeled the “Big Beautiful Bill.” He argues the legislation would result in 15 million Americans losing health insurance while gutting programs that support working families.