After a super PAC advocating for Secretary Hilary Clinton attacked Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders on September 17th, Sanders’ campaign announced that it raised over $1.2 million from supporters in less than 48 hours. The fundraising feat occurred after a call to action by Sanders himself.
“Yesterday, one of Hillary Clinton’s most prominent Super PACs attacked our campaign pretty viciously,” Sanders said in an email to supporters. “It was the kind of onslaught I expected to see from the Koch Brothers or Sheldon Adelson, and it’s the second time a billionaire Super PAC has tried to stop the momentum of the political revolution we’re building together.”
Courtesy: Bernie Sanders
As more than a dozen Republican presidential candidates battled to gain double digits in the polls, Democratic candidates struggled to challenge Clinton’s campaign. Clinton’s national poll numbers remained resistant to change at a comfortable 60 percent until late July. Today, despite her $47 million of funding, Clinton’s support has steadily declined to an average of 45 percent across the major polls.
Meanwhile, Sanders has climbed to 25 percent in national polls. Most polls show him with a 10-point advantage over Clinton in his neighbor state of New Hampshire, and some polls show him edging ahead in Iowa. When Sanders announced his intention to run for president on April 30, he called for “a political revolution to transform our country economically, politically, socially and environmentally.” As the media wondered openly whether Sanders could find the donors necessary to challenge Hilary Clinton’s massive funding and strong support in the polls, Sanders declared, “American democracy is not about billionaires being able to buy candidates and elections.”
Courtesy: Press Herald
But today, Sanders has the most funding of any candidate in either party besides Clinton. His campaign boasts more grassroots support than Clinton’s. A staggering $11 million of his $15 million dollars came from contributions of under $200. Meanwhile, Clinton received the vast majority of her funding, over $31 million, from contributions of over $2,000.
A long time enemy of Citizens United, Sanders pledged not to take any money from Super PACs, which can raise unlimited funds to advocate for a candidate without contribution limits or, in some cases, disclosure of the donors. Sanders’ campaign relies on small donations, mostly from individuals, to challenge the extremely well funded Clinton in coming months.
Courtesy: Bernie Sanders
In 1991, Sanders was elected as Vermont’s sole member of the House of Representatives and became the first independent elected to the House in more than 40 years. Early in his tenure, Sanders co-founded the Congressional Progressive Caucus, now the largest Democratic caucus. In 2006, Vermont elected Sanders to the Senate.And it seems like it’s working. Despite initial doubts, Sanders has seen consistent gains in the polls and increasing media attention. TIME Magazine will feature Sanders on its cover in the coming weeks, giving even more exposure to the suddenly well-known Senator from Vermont.“What he offers is 100 percent honesty and authenticity,” said Neil Spencer, senior political science and international affairs major. “He isn’t a politician because he wants to be in power, but because he wants to help the American people.”
Sanders’ supporters cite his consistency as one of his main strengths.
Courtesy: TIME
“I think Sanders is honest,” said Katie Davis, freshman motion picture arts major. “He’s been campaigning for the same issues for years, successfully.” A common example of Sanders consistency is his career-long support of gay marriage. While he was mayor of Burlington, Vermont, in 1983 Sanders supported the city’s first ever pride parade. In contrast, Hilary Clinton was an opponent of gay marriage in the 2008 presidential election and only recently changed her stance. Sanders has a 100-percent rating from the LGBTQ rights advocacy group, the Human Rights Campaign.
Sanders emphasizes his concern for growing economic inequality, as well as his awareness of long-standing issues of race, gender, and sexuality. “Sanders gives young people hope for the future,” said Orlagh O’Rourke, freshman digital media major. “With him, we can change America and get on the right track to freedom and quality for all, no matter your race, gender, sex, or who you love.” Sanders is the candidate to watch in the weeks leading up to the first Democratic Primary debate on Tuesday, October 13th.