Feeling The Bern: The Secret To Sanders’ Success In New Hampshire

PORTSMOUTH, NEW HAMPSHIRE — Minutes after opening a new field office on the New Hampshire coast and firing up a crowd of local supporters, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) shuffled over to reporters with a grin replacing his usually gruff expression.

“We’re feeling really good about New Hampshire,” he said. “It kind of blows me away the number of people we have coming up, who are prepared to volunteer for the campaign. We’re going to do well in New Hampshire and Iowa, and if we win those two states, I think we’ll do quite well on Super Tuesday, and we’ve got a path to a victory.” He chuckled, his lined face bathed in the light of several TV cameras. “Welcome to the political revolution, guys.”

Sanders has good reason to feel confident. For weeks, polls have shown him several points ahead of Hillary Clinton — despite her almost universal name recognition. He’s also been drawing bigger crowds across the state. Among voters under 30 years old, his lead is even wider. This past Sunday night, his town hall at the University of New Hampshire in Durham drew about five times as many people as Hillary Clinton attracted to a forum at the same campus two days before.

A recent poll also found that New Hampshire voters view Sanders as more trustworthy, and more understanding of the needs of “everyday people,” though Clinton polled better on level of experience and the ability to win the general election. Another poll found Sanders dominating in voter enthusiasm, with 78 percent of his backers voicing “enthusiastic support” compared to Clinton’s 39 percent.

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http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2015/09/23/3704104/feeling-the-bern-the-secret-to-sanders-success-in-new-hampshire/