January 25, 2000

Sanders Officially Joins Race for Congress
Candidate Files 1,090 Signatures to Qualify for April Primary

NEW FREEDOM, PA - Yesterday, Jeff Sanders (D-York County) officially became a candidate for Congress when he filed almost 1,100 signatures with the Pennsylvania Bureau of Commissions, Elections, and Legislation, one day before the end of the filing and circulation period. Pointing out broad support from across the 19th Congressional District - more than half of his total number of signatures came from Adams and Cumberland counties - Sanders recognized his campaign's and the Democratic Party's high level of organization and appeal as reasons for the strong showing.

"Much of the credit for my campaign's successful petition drive has to go to the women and men of the Democratic Party in South Central Pennsylvania who braved the snow and cold to go door-to-door to get the signatures we needed," Sanders said. "I'm glad that my message of new freedoms and new responsibilities - for new leadership - so clearly resonated with my neighbors. I'm proud to have them on my team. With this kind of help, we can't lose."

Officially, Sanders filed 1,090 signatures from Adams, Cumberland, and York County - outdistancing the required total by nearly ten percent. 421 came from York County, 382 were drawn from Adams County, and Cumberland County rounded out the total with 287 signatures.

"That so many of our signatures came from outside my home county is a great reflection of my campaign's efforts to reach out to voters across the District," Sanders added. "It shows that I'm working hard to be the candidate for all the people of South Central Pennsylvania."