In his first stop in Keene since he announced his 2020 candidacy, Sen. Bernie Sanders brought a full house Sunday to The Colonial Theatre.

The crowd included people who supported the Vermont independent when he ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016, as well as some who didn’t.

“I wanted to see a woman in office (in 2016),” Deborah Rainey, 62, of Harrisville, who supported Hillary Clinton, said after the rally. “But I’ve become — well, I have been very progressive for a long time, and I am thinking I should have backed him last time, actually.”

Derek Blunt, 26, of Keene said he admires the senator’s consistency. Sanders talks about “a lot of the same things he’s been running on since, I mean, even the early ’90s,” Blunt said.

Others are keeping an open mind.

“It’d be nuts not to come out to see as many of these people as you can, when you live in New Hampshire,” Bill Hay, 72, of Keene said. Sanders began speaking around 4 p.m. after several introductory speakers, including a Keene State College student, Tris Patoine, who described the devastation that not having health coverage caused his family.

When we chose to have a kid, we chose to take a risk,” Tim said. “ … It is scary to think about the future with climate change. It’s scary to go out on a limb and try to provide for a family.”

Even with both incomes, they don’t think they’ll be able to afford childcare, he said.

“It’s a human right to have a family,” he said. “We need to know that our government works to provide for everybody, and part of that is to guarantee a subsidy for people who want to have families, whether it’s in the form of guaranteed parental leave or guaranteed childcare.”

He said Sanders is the only candidate he’s considering. “I don’t think anyone is nearly as genuine.”

Anti-Semitism is a hateful and dangerous ideology which must be vigorously opposed in the United States and around the world. We must not, however, equate anti-Semitism with legitimate criticism of the right-wing, Netanyahu government in Israel,” Sanders said in a statement on Wednesday. “Rather, we must develop an even-handed Middle East policy which brings Israelis and Palestinians together for a lasting peace.

What I fear is going on in the House now is an effort to target Congresswoman Omar as a way of stifling that debate. That’s wrong.

We all have a responsibility to speak out against anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, homophobia, transphobia, racism, and all forms of hatred and bigotry, especially as we see a spike in hate crimes in America. But like some of my colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus, I am concerned that the spotlight being put on Congresswoman Omar may put her at risk.

We should be having a sound, respectful discussion about policy. You can both support Israel and be loyal to our country. I also believe there is a difference between criticism of policy or political leaders, and anti-Semitism. At the end of the day, we need a two-state solution and a commitment to peace, human rights, and democracy by all leaders in the region ― and a commitment by our country to help achieve that.