America Is Feeling The Bern: Bernie Sanders Draws Overflow Crowds — And Surges In The Polls - Salon [View all]

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America is feeling the Bern: Bernie Sanders draws overflow crowds — and surges in the polls
Once written off as a fringe candidate, the Vermont senator's performance is taking many pundits by surprise
Sophia Tesfaye - Salon
Tuesday, Jun 16, 2015 06:24 AM PDT


Bernie Sanders (Credit: AP/Evan Vucci)

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Some voters in the early voting states seem to be “feeling the Bern,” an enthusiastic reference to the candidacy of 73-year-old Independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.

Sanders appeared before a standing-room only crowd of more than 700 supporters at a Friday night rally in Iowa, which the Wall Street Journal notes is “the same number who went to a Hillary Clinton event on Sunday that featured a buffet table and a live band.”

In Wisconsin, Sanders took a surprising 41 percent in the Democratic Party straw poll at the state convention, losing to Clinton by just eight points.

And Sanders is surging in New Hampshire, a crucial early primary state. According to a recent Morning Consult New Hampshire poll, Sanders holds an impressive 32% to Clinton’s 44%, and at a recent event in Keene, New Hampshire, the more than 1,000 people who showed up to see the democratic socialist couldn’t all fit into the room.

“I am surprised by the size of the crowds. In Keene, New Hampshire, on Saturday, we had close to a thousand people,” Sanders told reporters.

Sanders told NPR’s Tamra Keith that he was “stunned” by people’s reactions on the trail and the large crowds he draws. ”If you were to ask me a couple of months ago whether we would have larger crowds than any other candidate out there, I would not have told you that that would be the case,” he said.

More than 3,000 supporters showed up to a fiery Sanders rally on in Minneapolis recently. The longest-serving independent in congressional history said the crowds left him ”stunned. Stunned. I mean I had to fight my way to get into the room. Standing room only. Minneapolis was literally beyond belief.”

The crowds have translated to some cash for Sanders. His campaign said it expects to have about $10 million on hand by the end of the month from more than 200,000 contibutors and plans to raise about $50 million total. But that figure is about half of what the Clinton campaign is reportedly expected to raise.

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More: http://www.salon.com/2015/06/16/america_is_feeling_the_bern_bernie_sanders_draws_overflow_crowds_and_surges_in_the_polls/