Bernie Sanders rally draws crowd of 4,500 in Reno

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders made his first stop in Northern Nevada of the campaign season Tuesday at a rally in Reno that attracted around 4,500 people.

Sanders, an independent from Vermont running for the Democratic nomination, held the rally in front of the Joe Crowley Student Union on the campus of the University of Nevada, Reno after attending a town hall meeting with the AFL-CIO in Las Vegas. Sanders, who describes himself as a socialist, called for free public college tuition, universal healthcare, paid parental leave, criminal justice reform, campaign finance reform and a $1 trillion infrastructure rebuilding program he said would create 13 million jobs.

Most of Sanders’ message centered around the economy, particularly income inequality. He advocated for raising the minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $15 an hour and said it was unfair that some people who work 40 hours a week still have to use welfare in some form or another.

“That is not what this country is supposed to be about,” he said. “It is not a radical idea to say that if you work 40 hours a week in this country, you should not be living in poverty.”

Wall Street was also in Sanders’ crosshairs the entire speech. He said since the American people bailed out the banks during the 2008 financial crisis, it was time for the banks to bail out the American people via a tax on speculative spending to fund free college education.

“What we have got to tell Wall Street right now is that if a financial institution is too big to fail, it is too big to exist,” he said.

Sanders has largely played second-fiddle in the polls to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton – often considered the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination.

However, the Vermont senator has gained momentum in polling in recent weeks as questions about Clinton’s private email server during her time at the State department plague her campaign. A Fox News poll released Friday shows Sanders, who started his campaign trailing by more than 40 points, within 19 points of Clinton nationally. He’s also gained ground in Iowa and recently overtook Clinton in New Hampshire, leading by seven points in the most recent poll.

Questions remain about Sanders’ electability. Many see him as too radical to beat Clinton for the nomination, but David Gibson of Reno said a victory was within Sanders’ reach.

“I think his chances of winning the nomination are good,” he said. “People who are further to the left are all supporting Bernie and people who are further to the right are looking at Donald Trump and the whole circus that is going on with the Republicans.”

The crowd quickly filled the area on the UNR campus when the gates opened. By 5:30 p.m., there were around 500 people at the event. By 6 p.m., that number had already swelled to nearly 1,500.

Attendees remained fervent the entire time, waving “Bernie” signs and chanting his name.

“Bernie doesn’t have any billionaires,” Patrick McQuillan, 55, of Reno, said. “He only has us and we are the ones who stand behind him and we are the ones who are really affected by the decisions idiot Republicans make, people like Jeb Bush and people like Scott Walker.”

Romayne Chamberlain, 63, of Reno, said Sanders’ message emanated a hope America hadn’t seen in 40 years.

“I think of (George) McGovern. I think of Bobby Kennedy,” he said. “I also had great hope for Obama, I really did. I think he hit a wall that he wasn’t expecting to hit and couldn’t work around. I feel disappointed we didn’t get more done with him.”

Rosalie Mahler, a 21-year-old UNR student studying international relations, said Sanders’ message about relieving student debt and offering free higher education stuck with her the most.

“To be honest with you, I think he is for the people,” she said. “Of all the politicians that are running for president, this guy is the real guy for the people.”

The group Hookers for Hillary showed up for a moment, but left without incident or much crowd attention.

The senator’s visit comes three days after Attorney General Adam Laxalt’s Basque Fry, where GOP candidates Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Dr. Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker pitched their campaigns to a group of 1,500 in Gardnerville.

The senator was critical of Republicans he described as being encumbered to large donors and super PACS. Sanders reserved some of his sharpest criticism for Republican megadonors Charles and David Koch, the Kansas billionaires behind Koch Industries, who he said were expected to outspend both parties at $900 million.

“The campaign contributors are so powerful that no president – not the best – can do it alone, unless millions of people stand up and loudly proclaim that this country and our government belong to us and not just a handful of billionaires,” Sanders said.

Seth A. Richardson covers breaking news for the Reno Gazette-Journal. Contact him at 775-788-6301, srichardson@rgj.com or on Twitter at @SethARichardson