A Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration at the South Carolina state house has drawn out two prospective Democratic presidential candidates.
New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders participated in a prayer service in honor of the late civil rights leader Monday morning at Zion Baptist Church in Columbia, followed by a march and rally outside of the South Carolina State House Dome.
Both Booker and Sanders are expected to announce their bids for the presidency in the near future, with their appearance in South Carolina placing them in a critical early voting state for the Democratic primary.
Sanders is expected to lead a town hall discussion Monday afternoon. In a copy of his remarks obtained by the Associated Press, Sanders talks about King’s example in fighting for racial and economic equality.
"Racial equality must be central to combatting economic inequality, if we are to build an economy that works for all of us, and not just the top one percent,” Sanders said.
Sen. Kamala Harris, of California, also used the holiday to launch her presidential campaign Monday morning on Good Morning America. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who has launched an exploratory committee to consider a presidential run, is also expected to visit South Carolina Wednesday.