Sanders: ‘I’m stunned’ by surge in polls
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) says he’s blown away by his own surge to the top of Democratic presidential primary polls in the early-voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire.
“You want me to tell you the truth?” Sanders told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on “Wolf” Thursday. “Yes, I’m stunned.”
{mosads}Sanders attributed his success to stances on campaign finance reform and climate change that have appealed to a broad array of voters.
“The American people are saying, ‘No, this is not the kind of country we want to be,’ so I thought those issues would resonate, but did I think they would resonate as quickly as they have? The answer is no,” Sanders said.
Although fellow Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton’s private email server is “clearly not helping her,” Sanders stressed that his “political revolution that says that the billionaire class can’t have it all” is the real reason for his ascendant campaign.
As to whether he wants Vice President Joe Biden to enter the presidential race, Sanders was mum.
“If Joe gets in, that’s great, if he doesn’t, that’s OK, too,” he said.
Sanders also highlighted the crowds that his campaign stops have drawn, saying Democrats win elections by turning out the vote.
–Updated 5:47 p.m.
“Wolf, if you come to the rallies that we hold, what you’re going to see is a lot of working-class people, you’re going to see a lot of young people, who are now prepared to get involved in the political process,” Sanders said.
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