Celebrity star-power fuels Bernie's final Iowa sprint

Politico

His traveling festival of celebrity surrogates aims to attract young and unlikely voters to his campaign events.

By HOLLY OTTERBEIN

01/27/2020 07:09 PM EST

Updated: 01/27/2020 08:17 PM EST

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Inside the campaign, some aides call it “Bernchella."

As Bernie Sanders attempts to surge to a first-place finish in Iowa, the Vermont senator is tapping famous politicians and celebrities to campaign for him in one final star-studded week before the caucuses.

The luminaries cut across the culture, from politics to music to movies and more. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, filmmaker and liberal stalwart Michael Moore, actor Kendrick Sampson, and recording artists Bon Iver and Vampire Weekend — who inspired the Coachella-derived nickname — are among those who have or will be stumping for him.

The roster of celebrity surrogates is designed to bring out young and unlikely voters to events: A Friday rally featuring Ocasio-Cortez and Moore, which Sanders couldn’t attend because he was in Washington for the impeachment trial, drew an estimated 800-plus people. Overall, nearly 6,000 attended events in Iowa held by Sanders, Ocasio-Cortez and Moore over the last few days, according to the campaign.

Their support comes after the Sanders team courted backing from people such as rapper Cardi B and other stars of color for months.

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