Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent running for the Democratic nomination for president, said he has been “surprised” at the size of the crowds who have shown up at his campaign events.
“I am surprised by the size of the crowds,” Sanders told reporters Thursday at a Christian Science Monitor breakfast in Washington, D.C.
More than 3,000 supporters showed up in Minneapolis. About 1,000 people showed up in Keene, N.H. Hundreds have come out in Iowa.
“I think our name recognition is growing,” he said. “We have momentum. Our numbers are growing.”
And, he said, he is not just in the race against front-runner Hillary Clinton to spoil the campaign but to win.
“This is not an educational campaign,” he said. This is not a protest campaign.”
Sanders repeatedly spoke about his support for low-income and middle-class and his opposition to the interests of big business and corporate America.
He said he knows he will be outspent by his rivals who have support from more wealthy donors and super political action committees. He said his campaign has at least 200,000 campaign contributors.
“We are going to be outspent, but that was never the question,” Sanders said. “The question is could we raise the money to run a winning campaign? And I think we can.”