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JOHNSTON | Bernie Sanders will run for president only if there is a massive groundswell of support on the ground level, he says. A two-day visit to Iowa was encouraging, the liberal independent U.S. senator from Vermont said Wednesday.

Sanders spoke at events in Ames and Altoona on Tuesday, drawing hundreds to both, and on Wednesday, he taped an episode of Iowa Public Television’s “Iowa Press.”

“I was very surprised by the turnout that we had in Ames, and there seems to be a lot of enthusiasm,” Sanders told reporters after taping “Iowa Press.” “As we go around the state, we seem to be attracting a large number of people … People want a change."

On “Iowa Press,” Sanders talked about the challenges of facing well-funded opponents while running as an independent candidate. Sanders, who has served more than two decades in Congress as an independent, has not said whether he would run for president as an independent or a Democrat, if he chooses to enter the race.

Sanders indicated Wednesday he would prefer to remain independent, but he acknowledged that presents its own challenge of a lack of national campaign infrastructure.