Bernie Sanders: The steady rise of the ultimate political outlier

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Bernie Sanders, the senator and socialist from Vermont, is the unlikeliest of contenders to rival Hillary Clinton for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination.

The 74-year old reputed grump has shaken up the Democratic presidential race with his blunt talk about income inequality and excessive corporate wealth.

He has developed a cult-like following among young white liberals and disenchanted Democrats, who are fed up with the political establishment that Ms. Clinton represents. The growing discontent with the status quo has underpinned Mr. Sanders's success, much like it has done with Donald Trump in the Republican race.

With the first primary election in less than three months, Mr. Sanders is scrambling to turn his support into votes. He is taking shots at Ms. Clinton's progressive credentials and is expected to ramp up the attacks in Iowa on Saturday at the second Democratic debate.

When Mr. Sanders launched his campaign in April, he was not taken seriously given Ms. Clinton's formidable experience as first lady, secretary of state, New York senator and consummate political operator.

"He knew what kind of opposition he was up against," said Richard Sugarman, a 71-year old religion professor at the University of Vermont, who is close enough to Mr. Sanders that the senator consulted him before deciding to run for president. "Whether he would have enough people around him in the face of that kind of opposition, that was his biggest doubt."

Mr. Sanders has drawn huge crowds at rallies across the United States, including 27,500 in Los Angeles; 28,000 in Portland, Ore.; 20,000 in Boston; and 11,000 in Phoenix. He even attracted more than 10,000 supporters at events in Republican-dominated Texas.

The latest fundraising figures show Mr. Sanders raised a whopping $26.2-million (U.S.) in the third quarter this year, almost as much as Ms. Clinton's $28-million.

The bulk of his contributions came from thousands of small-dollar donors, suggesting that Mr. Sanders may be recreating the same groundswell of support from the middle class that carried President Barack Obama into the Oval Office.

"It reminds me of 2008 where everybody was saying there was no way that Mr. Obama could win. No way. And then he did, two elections in a row by a landslide. That's what's going to happen this time," said Gary McHone, a 53-year-old life-long Democrat from Iowa, who voted for Mr. Obama and favours Mr. Sanders over Ms. Clinton.

Iowa kicks off the primary season Feb.1 and has enormous influence on the election. The Midwestern state often provides the winner with momentum to secure the party's nomination, which is what happened when Mr. Obama beat Ms. Clinton during her first presidential run in 2008.

Mr. Sanders is behind Ms. Clinton in Iowa polls after briefly surging above her in the fall. In most other states, he trails Ms. Clinton by at least 20 points. They both command more support than the only other Democratic candidate, Martin O'Malley, a 52-year-old former Maryland governor.

After the first Democratic debate in October, during which Ms. Clinton outshone Mr. Sanders, the Vermont senator started to paint himself as the true liberal and Ms.Clinton as a flip-flopper.

He has pointed out he voted against the Iraq war, supported gay marriage before it was popular and always opposed the trade deal between the United States, Canada and Pacific Rim countries – areas where Ms. Clinton has since reversed her position.

That consistency has endeared Mr. Sanders to his fans.

"Many candidates have changed their views on big issues and I just don't feel like I can trust them. It is just really cool how he stays true to what he believes in," said Anna Schroeder, an 18-year-old Iowan.

At the Iowa Democratic Party's main fundraiser in Des Moines in October, Mr. Sanders drew large cheers when he spoke about breaking up the big banks and his lack of Super PACs, outside fundraising groups that can raise unlimited funds from corporations and others hoping to influence the election.

His supporters screamed: "Hey hey, ho ho, the oligarchy has got to go" and "You can't buy us." They carried signs that read "Money out, Bernie in" and "Join the Revolution." Their T-shirts were emblazoned with "The revolution starts now."

"Bernie is the only candidate that is trying to stop the corporate-o-cracy. They are ruling us, the corporations in America," Deborah Marlin, a 50-year-old Democrat from Iowa, said on the sidelines of the fundraiser.

When Mr. Sanders speaks, he shouts with a thick Brooklyn accent left over from his childhood days in the New York borough. He constantly beats one arm up and down to stress his points. His campaign speeches are long-winded lectures that he delivers hunched over a lectern.

But however trendy Mr. Sanders has become, he must expand his base and prove to Democrats he can be their standard-bearer. He enjoys immense popularity in his home state of Vermont, one of the least populated U.S. states and one that is overwhelmingly white.

Meanwhile, Ms. Clinton has secured hundreds of endorsements from Democratic lawmakers and officials. Mr. Sanders has virtually no support among the Democratic establishment given that he has served independently of any political party in U.S. Congress for the past 24 years.

The 68-year-old Ms. Clinton also has strong relations with key Democratic constituencies: women, African-Americans and Hispanics. Mr. Sanders was the target of Black Lives Matter activists for being unaware of their concerns. He has since made efforts to address disparities in the African-American community and reminds people that he led protests against segregation during the 1960s.

Regardless of his outsider status, the record shows that Mr. Sanders is a pragmatic politician. He started running as an Independent after failing to get elected as a member of the socialist Liberty Union Party. As mayor of Burlington, Vt., in the 1980s, he worked with Republicans and Democrats to revitalize the city's waterfront. In Congress, he caucuses with the Democrats and has worked with a top Republican senator to improve veterans' health care.

Throughout three decades in office, his message has remained the same: accessible health care, wealth redistribution and no money in politics.

"He has been talking about how working people are getting shafted. He has been doing that consistently," said Jerry Levy, a 75-year-old actor from Vermont who joined the socialist party as Mr. Sanders was leaving it in the 1970s. "He's basically trying to start a social movement all by himself."