PROVIDENCE, R.I. — With less than three weeks until Rhode Island's April 26 presidential primary, supporters of Bernie Sanders opened a state campaign office on Sunday, in an effort to earn as many of the state's 24 delegates as they can muster.

The festive occasion for the Vermont senator drew close to 200 people at the office, located at 500 Broad St.

They packed the small room and spilled out onto Pine Street, across from Grace Church Cemetery. There, a man wearing Sanders stickers and playing bagpipes provided a musical backdrop as campaign staff passed around sign-up sheets seeking volunteers.

"This election is going to be won by voter-to-voter contact," said featured speaker James Dean, brother of former presidential candidate Howard Dean and chairman of Democracy for America, a political action committee based in Burlington, Vermont.

He encouraged volunteers to hit the streets of Rhode Island to urge people to vote for Sanders. "It's been a long time since Rhode Island's presidential primary actually mattered."

Field director Evan LeBrun, who is from Maine, added, "We need to talk to as many people as possible in the next 16 days. We can and we will win the state of Rhode Island for Bernie Sanders."

Joseph Caiazzo, Rhode Island political director for Sanders, welcomed the crowd. He said that volunteers would be trained and immediately begin door-to-door campaigning.

"Do you feel the Bern?" he asked. "Are you ready for a revolution."

The crowd cheered wildly as he went on to note the importance of Rhode Island's 24 delegates.

"We know we are in quite the fight for delegates," he said.

Among those who turned out was Barbara Haller, 44, who lives in Providence's West End. Last year, she moved to the United States from Denmark and became a citizen.

"I was a devoted Hillary fan at first," said Haller, who was excited about "the idea of having the first woman president" in the United States.

But having moved from a socialist country, she said that she's now drawn to Sanders because of his support for free college education and health care.

"He's grown on me," Haller said. "I'm very much a dedicated Bernie fan now."

—rsalit@providencejournal.com

(401) 277-7467

Twitter: @RichSalit