Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders says his growing popularity among Democratic voters is a result of their disgust with the campaign finance system and corporate greed.
While stumping in front of a crowd of at least 700 people Thursday afternoon in Grinnell, Sanders says one of the ways his campaign is different from others is that he’s one of the few candidates without the backing of a Super Pac.
"We have said very clearly that we do not want money from billionaires and corporate America, their agenda is not my agenda," said Sanders. "We will raise money from working families and the middle class, and we will sink or swim based the support we get from them."
Sanders has represented Vermont in the U.S. Senate as an independent since 2007. During his speech, he referenced the fact that his campaign has surprised many by the momentum it’s built with likely Democratic voters over the past four months, despite his outsider status.
"The American people in my view are sick and tired with establishment politics, they are sick and tired of establishment economics, and they are sick and tired with establishment media," said Sanders. "I am asking you to get involved in a political revolution, a grass-roots movement which transforms America."
A Des Moines Register Poll released this week shows Sanders is the first choice of 30-perecent of likely Democratic caucus-goers. Front runner Hillary Clinton was the first choice of 37 percent.
In addition to campaign finance, Sanders discussed raising the minimum wage, free college tuition, and single-payer healthcare.
