Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders’ efforts in Iowa have been paying off in recent weeks, as he has taken the lead (albeit by one point) over long-time front-runner Hillary Clinton. A lot of that support is funneled by a more focused organization in Des Moines at the state campaign’s headquarters. According to the campaign, a lot of the support is simply from caucus-goers seeing the candidate himself.
“We have 55 organizers on the ground, and this weekend, we will have 56 because he is our number one organizing draw,” said Robert Becker, Iowa campaign director, in a press conference call on Wednesday. “The thing that we have found in the four months that we have been on the ground here, is that when Iowans get to know Bernie, get to meet him, the more they like him, the more they sign on to commit to caucus for him.”
A lot of political experts have been skeptical of Sanders’ support and just how strong it is among voters outside of college campuses, as a vast majority of his current supporters are in the early to mid-20’s.
“We’re definitely playing in all 99 counties right now,” said Becker. “The campus organization gives us not only an edge in those precincts, but also a tremendous volunteer base. If you look at Story County…we had an organizational meeting a few weeks back that had over 300 attendees. Those folks are not only working on campus, but they’re filling the phone lines in our headquarters as we do outreach to other counties in the Story County area. So we’re definitely using it as a volunteer base to spread the game across all 99 counties.”
Sanders’ campaign senior media adviser Tad Davine said Sanders is not only showing up positively among the youth, but also among working middle-class families, a key sector in widespread attention.
“As a number of public polls have show, he does have tremendous support among young voters, but he has a lot of support of families with incomes of less than $30,000,” said Davine. “His support among working families has just been overwhelming. I think that’s what really transcends a lot of politics, and I believe that’s beginning to percolate in Iowa and elsewhere. And if we can begin to build that coalition, powered by young voters, but also supplemented by working families, but also a high information voter…I think that is a winning coalition.”
Becker said Sanders’ Iowa campaign is not worried about fellow contender Hillary Clinton’s strong organization in the caucus state; he said they’re not even paying attention.
“Our focus is building the operation we need for 1,682 precincts in 99 counties on caucus night, so we don’t spend a whole lot of time dwelling on what the Clinton campaign or other campaigns are doing,” said Becker. “Aside from the normal logistical weather challenges that we’ll get through in December and January, it’s building that organization.”
Sanders is hosting six events in central Iowa this weekend.
