As Bernie Sanders rises in Iowa, his 2020 supporters slam establishment warnings he could lose to Donald Trump
DAVENPORT, Iowa - For the last five years, Diane and Joel Franken have been fervent students of the politics of Bernie Sanders and the mechanics of his presidential campaigns.
The couple, dressed in matching blue "Bernie" T-shirts for a recent event in Davenport, have seen the Vermont senator speak at 10 rallies, watched him play softball at the Field of Dreams in Iowa, frequently volunteered for the campaign and even housed Sanders campaign staffers in their home for the last two presidential cycles.
They've noticed some differences in 2020 compared with the last go-round: The staff is more diverse and experienced, the campaign is doing a better job of reaching out to black and Latino voters, and the voter contact program is more sophisticated than it was four years ago. Plus, Iowans are far more familiar with Sanders, who now has the benefit of being a household name, with his push for a political revolution well-known to the masses.
"I have no doubt he's going to win Iowa this time. His ground team this year is unbelievable," Joel Franken, a 73-year-old arts educator, said before a recent Sanders rally at St. Ambrose University as his wife nodded in agreement. "They're just so solid organizationalwise, they did well in the caucus system last time - which is not easy - and I think they really have it knocked this year."
A key Iowa poll adds to Franken's optimism, placing Sanders atop the Democratic field in Iowa for the first time in either of his runs for president. It's far
