Bernie Sanders

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders pauses during a political rally in Madison, Wis., Wednesday, July 1, 2015.

(Michael P. King/Wisconsin State Journal via AP)

LANSING, MI -- Vicki Danielson had no idea how many people to expect when she began organizing a meeting for Bernie Sanders supporters in Grand Rapids last month, but she soon realized she'd have to find a larger venue.

Roughly 200 people attended the meeting at the Grand Rapids Brewing Co., she said, some from as far away as Traverse City. They wanted to know how they could help Sanders, the U.S. Senator from Vermont who is seeking the Democratic nomination for president.

"We were all completely amazed by how it snowballed," said Danielson, a 60-year-old Stanton resident who calls herself a "retired grandma" and political "amateur" inspired by Sanders but not working directly for his campaign.

"To me, here's a guy who is not corrupted by big money. He's trustworthy and does exactly what he says he's going to do and has not wavered," said Danielson. "He doesn't change his mind with the blowing wind like most politicians do. I just don't see anyone else who fits the bill."

Sanders, a 73-year-old self-described democratic socialist, is drawing big crowds at campaign events in other states after some pundits originally wrote off his candidacy.

He hasn't come to Michigan, and his campaign is not yet active beyond early primary states like Iowa and New Hampshire, but grassroots volunteers are already hard at work here on his behalf in an unofficial capacity.

Karissa Prikopa, a 23-year-old car salesperson who said she's never worked on a political campaign, is helping lead the Michigan for Bernie Sanders group and is organizing events in Metro Detroit.

About 150 people attended a recent meet up at the HopCat brew pub in Detroit, Prikopa said, noting that they began to expect a healthy crowd after seeing the turnout in Grand Rapids the previous month.

"We had Detroiters. We had Metro Detroiters. We even had some people from Toledo and Saginaw," she said. "They really came from all over to just get together and try to find out what they can do on the grassroots side of things."

Organizers have also held meetings in Lansing, Ann Arbor and Traverse City. They don't work for the Sanders campaign and do not appear to be particularly well funded, but volunteers have done some phone banking for the candidate.

While he's building grassroots support, Sanders is still polling a distant second to Hillary Clinton, the former first Lady and Secretary of State who has long-been considered a near-lock for the Democratic nomination.

In a recent Michigan poll, 57 percent of likely Democratic primary voters backed Clinton, compared to 25 percent for Sanders, 5 percent for Lincoln Chafee, 2 percent for Jim Webb and 1 percent for Martin O'Malley.

But the poll was actually good news for Sanders, who remains a major underdog.

"Sanders is doing better in Michigan than just about anywhere other than New Hampshire, so he's off to a very good start there," said Tom Jensen, director of Public Policy Polling. "In national polls and in most states he's still under 20 percent."

Sanders seems to poll particularly well with educated liberals, Jensen said, noting that he recently drew a large crowd in Madison, Wisconsin and suggesting he could draw a similar crowd in an area like Ann Arbor.

His chances of actually beating Clinton in Michigan "remain very slim though," Jensen said, because a 32-point deficit is nearly impossible to make up. Clinton also holds a strong lead among African Americans in Michigan, he noted, a key demographic in Democratic primaries.

"Sanders hasn't shown much appeal to nonwhite voters yet and that would make it a challenge for him to come all the way back," Jensen said. "His chances of influencing the dialogue in the state are pretty high though, and ultimately that's probably the most he can hope for from his campaign."

THE SANDERS SURGE

Democratic presidential primaries can often feature an upstart candidate who challenges the establishment choice -- think Howard Dean in 2004, whose campaign eventually ceded to John Kerry's nomination -- and President Barack Obama actually pulled it off in 2008.

Sanders has established himself as this cycle's liberal insurgent in the Democratic field, which may have otherwise lacked some of the inherent excitement of the Republican race, which already includes 15 announced candidates and at least one more who is expected to join the fray.

TJ Bucholz, a political consultant and president of Vanguard Public Affairs in Lansing, pointed to "a groundswell of support" for Sanders in "blue or purple" states that tend to vote Democratic but said he does not see much of a movement in southern states. He believes that Clinton is still a virtual "lock" for the nomination.

"I think most people that are supporting Bernie are certainly liberal, but they also don't believe there should be a coronation of Hillary Clinton or any other candidate," he said. "It's not just his ideas, it's the concept that this country should not be run by two families -- the Clintons and the Bushes."

Sanders, O'Malley and Elizabeth Warren -- who is not running herself but has a large supporter base -- are good for the process because they bring unique issues to the foreground and may force Clinton to address them, Bucholz said, pointing to college affordability as an example.

Prikopa attributes Sander's still-low polling numbers to name recognition and sees plenty of room for him to make up ground before Michigan's primary in March of 2016.

"Who in Michigan pays attention to Vermont politics?" she said. "I really think that's all it is. Once people get to know Bernie Sanders, once they know who he has a consistent, 30-year record voting for the people and for the American workers, it's hard to dislike the guy."

Prikopa said she has personal reasons to support Sanders: her brother is training in the Navy Seals, and she believes Sanders, who voted against the Iraq War, would avoid unnecessary conflict. She and her husband have a hard time affording health insurance, and Sander supports a single-payer system.

She called his policy platform "common-sense liberalism" and suggested that embracing the term "socialist" -- so often used against President Obama by his critics -- is not necessarily a turn off for younger voters.

"We see Europe, we're plugged in and online, and they have a great standard of living," Prikopa said. "American college students coming into the workforce for the first time don't have the option of a pension like our parents and grandparents did. Generally, we see Democratic socialism as a very positive thing."

While Republican presidential candidates have been flooding Michigan -- at least four candidates will speak at a GOP confab on Mackinac Island next month -- Democrats haven't visited the state yet this cycle.

Clinton is scheduled to attend a July 21 "Conversation with Hillary" fundraiser at the Grosse Pointe home of David Katz and Jill Alper, a national political strategist who has worked on several presidential campaigns.

Clinton already holds a sizable fundraising lead over Sanders. Her official campaign -- not super PACs and other outside groups -- pulled in roughly $47 million between April and the end of June, compared to $15 million for Sanders.

Individual donors from Michigan gave the Clinton campaign roughly $226,000 during that reporting period, compared to about $63,000 for Sanders.

Supporters are hoping Sanders will visit Michigan sooner rather than later. The Grand Rapids Democratic Club has started an online petition hoping to "entice" him to make a campaign stop in West Michigan.

"We're working alongside them to get signatures," said Danielson. "We see what's going on in Madison and all these other places, and we're thinking we need to get him to Grand Rapids and let Michigan see just how popular this guy is everywhere he goes."

Jonathan Oosting is a Capitol reporter for MLive Media Group. Email him, find him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter.