"Tonight, we have more people at any meeting for a candidate of president of the United States than any other candidate,” Sanders told his fans at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Madison, Wis., according to The Associated Press

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Sanders used the occasion to slam Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, a likely Republican White House hopeful, for Walker’s battles against state labor unions.

"When you deny the right of workers to come together in collective bargaining, that's extremism," Sanders said. "When you tell a woman that she cannot control her own body, that's extremism."

Sanders continued beating his populist drum, to the delight of his supporters.

"The big money interests — Wall Street, corporate America, all of these guys — have so much power that no president can defeat them unless there is an organized grassroots movement making them an offer they can't refuse," he said.

Some in attendance took to social media to share images from the event:

With Bernie Sanders about to come on in Madison, the arena is more or less full. pic.twitter.com/TXMV7Agtfz — Dan Merica (@danmericaCNN) July 2, 2015