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Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks at Liberty University. CSPAN video



When Liberty University extended speaking invitations to all the candidates vying for president in 2016, two of the most conservative Republicans RSVP’d to speak at the school’s convocation: Scott Walker and Ben Carson.

The venue choice made sense for the two candidates, both of whom hold beliefs on issues like gay marriage and abortion that line up with the school’s evangelical principles. But the third confirmed candidate to speak was much more of a surprise: Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt..

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About 13,000 people filled a stadium at the Lynchburg, Virginia, school last week to hear Sanders speak. His 30-minute speech, which acknowledged a divergence with the school’s philosophy on issues of women’s and gay rights, sought a middle ground on other social justice issues.

“Let me respectfully suggest that there are other issues out there that are of enormous consequence to our country, and in fact to the entire world, that maybe, just maybe, we do not disagree on,” Sanders said. “And maybe, just maybe, we can try to work together in trying to resolve them.”

While the talk was reminiscent of a classic Sanders stump speech, it was also imbued with religious and moral themes as well as quoted bible verses. Following the speech, Sanders took questions from the audience before meeting with members of the Student Government Association at the school founded by the late Rev. Jerry Falwell.

While a number of Liberty University students said Sanders’ speech had not swayed them politically, many gave the senator credit for bringing his message to a new audience.

“He forced us to think,” said Kristen Smith, vice treasurer of the Liberty SGA, in an email. “He gave us the opportunity to hear opposing views, and Liberty students listened.”

Another Liberty student, Jacob Munden, said that while he was undecided as a voter, Sanders was not on the shortlist. But he echoed other students in their appreciation of hearing a different political perspective in Sanders.

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“When the convocation schedule came out we were all very surprised,” said Munden, who serves as the communications director for the SGA. “For the most part, we were all extremely grateful to get a point of view we don’t get a lot.”

Smith said most students she talked with after the speech said they were not going to vote for Sanders, and she said she prayed that most students would understand that some of Sanders views “do not line up with the Christian faith.”

But Smith said she thought that “the student came out [after the speech] stronger in faith and better rounded in their political views.”

Munden also said the speech didn’t likely change many minds, saying “What I think it did more for Sen. Sanders is that he gained so much respect in the media.”

While many of the accolades given to Sanders following the speech dealt more with his style than substance, he appeared to have made at least one convert.

A self-described Liberty University alumnus posted a 17-minute audio clip to the aggregation site Reddit following the speech, explaining why his support of Sanders for president did not compromise his deep religious convictions.

“I saw a wild-haired Jew crying out in a hoarse voice in a very forceful and forth-speaking way,” “Jim” said in the recording. “He was convicting the Christian leaders and religious leaders in that university for being complicit in the abandonment of those that suffer.”

“When I saw that guy on stage at Liberty University I saw John the Baptist,” Jim added.

In Vermont, Sanders has a reputation for attracting more conservative voters. In a recent Castleton poll, 15 percent of male and 27 percent of female Republicans said they would likely support a Sanders presidential bid.

“Vermont Republicans are a different breed,” said Rich Clark, who directs polling at Castleton University. “But at the same time, the issue of this opportunity gap is really resonating with a large and growing segment.”

Darcie Johnston, a Vermont Republican strategist, said that while she has never been a fan of Sanders, the Liberty speech was “a pretty amazing performance in what he was saying to them.”

She said that while she didn’t think Sanders would be able to spread his message out broadly enough to clinch the Democratic nomination, she said the grass-roots ground-game of the Senator was admirable.

“I do know that they tend to have the hardest working volunteers and an amazing amount of energy and ability to crisscross the country at a sustained pace in order to get out of the comfort zone,” she said.

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