Kevin Hardy

kmhardy@dmreg.com

IOWA CITY, Ia. — Sen. Bernie Sanders on Saturday night assembled his largest Iowa crowd yet some 48 hours before Iowans will officially kick off the presidential nominating contest.

A student-heavy crowd packed the University of Iowa's Iowa Field House for a Sanders campaign concert. University officials put the crowd count at about 3,900, though the campaign said that number was closer to 5,000. Either way, students stood outside for hours to get in Saturday night. And many more were turned away. The crowd happily sang along and cheered for headlining band Vampire Weekend. But it was the 74-year-old senator from Vermont who proved to be the night's main event.

As he ascended to a raised platform in the middle of the shoulder-to-shoulder crowd, Sanders was greeted by deafening cheers and chants of "Bernie! Bernie! Bernie!" Many of the concertgoers had waited outside for hours to snag a spot on the field house floor.

"Whoa," Sanders said. "There's a lot of people here."

The concert, which ended with a rendition of "This Land Is Your Land," capped off a day of campaign efforts aimed at translating Sanders' large crowd counts and enthusiasm into votes on Monday night.

Sanders goaded the audience by saying that most pundits don't believe the young people who often attend his events will actually come out and caucus.

"How would you like to make the pundits look dumb on election night?" he said to roars of applause.

Sanders jabs at Clinton

Earlier Saturday in Cedar Rapids, Sanders took aim at Hillary Clinton, saying he was "disturbed" and "disappointed" with the tone of her campaign, claiming she is trying to misrepresent his political record less than two days away from the Iowa caucuses.

Throughout the day, Sanders chafed at a Clinton ad airing in Iowa, The ad, which does not reference Sanders by name, says Clinton will "defend Planned Parenthood, not attack it" and "build on Obamacare, not start over." Sanders said he is pushing for universal healthcare and he pointed out that that he has called for increasing funding to Planned Parenthood, not cutting it.

"She is talking to the people of Iowa and saying Bernie Sanders wants to dismantle healthcare," Sanders said." Dismantle healthcare? I’ve been fighting for universal healthcare my entire life."

Earlier in the day, Sanders said he wanted to run an issues-oriented campaign and said he was "not going to get involved in attacking people in horrendous ways. I’ve never done that. I never will do that.”

"Secretary Clinton and I have differences of opinion," he said earlier while addressing volunteers in a supporter's garage in Charles City. "Let’s debate those differences of opinion, but let’s not go around distorting a record that I am very proud of.”

Clinton's campaign declined to comment on Sanders' statements.

The last-minute push

Much of the campaign's day was centered on political organizing. Campaign staff launched volunteers from 68 locations across the state on Saturday to knock on doors, said Robert Becker, the director of the Iowa campaign.

"It's just been nonstop all day long," he said of the campaign headquarters off of Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway in Des Moines, "dozens of dozens of people coming in grabbing maps and door hangers."

He noted that many of Sanders' appearances over the last few days of the campaign were designed to solidify already-identified support, not necessarily to drum up new support.

"This is about getting folks out to caucus," he said.

In Cedar Rapids, Congressman Keith Ellison, D-Minnesota, reinforced Sanders' claim that a win for him depends on high voter turnout.

"The only question is, can we take these rallies, can we take all of us who come together to stand and cheer for Bernie Sanders and convert it into votes on caucus day?" Ellison said. "You’ve got to get there early. You can’t get there late. You've got to get a plan: Are you going to walk? Are you going to drive? Are you going to take the bus? You've got to figure out how you're going to get to caucus because you’ve got to get to caucus."

AT THE EVENTS

SETTINGS: Delaware County Fairgrounds community center in Manchester; DoubleTree Convention Center in Cedar Rapids; Iowa Field House in Iowa City

CROWDS: About 220 in Manchester; 1,254 in Cedar Rapids; 3,500 in Iowa City

REACTIONS: Sanders enjoyed loud, enthusiastic crowds throughout the day. The Iowa City crowd was deafening.

OTHER STOPS: Sanders also campaigned in Charles City and Waverly on Saturday .

WHAT'S NEXT: Sanders will campaign in Waterloo, Marshalltown, Ames and Des Moines on Sunday.