The Sanders 2020 Campaign will kick off Saturday with 60 campaign meetings in Iowa and 5,000 across the nation. According to local organizers, the meetings are aimed at training volunteers for the long road ahead.

Tom Carsner, who organized locally for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sander's Campaign in 2016, is holding a Sanders kickoff event at the Iowa City Public Library

"Even though I think Sen. Sanders is well known in Iowa from 2016, really the best introduction is from your neighbors, friends and family — people you know who can talk about the issues," Carsner said.

Carsner said that in 2020 the campaign will continue to draw "people that may not show up otherwise" such as the youth vote, independent voters and low frequency voters.

"This year, I think there is a higher level of confidence from the candidate and supporters," Carsner said. "In 2016, we were building the plane while it was taking off and barely had time to catch our breath. We were elated by the results but knew that if we had more time to prepare and organize and talk to voters, we could have performed better. Now in 2020 we have that time to prepare and organize."

Medicare for all, a $15 minimum wage and free college for all may have seemed radical when Sanders supported them in 2016, but are becoming increasingly mainstream among Democratic challengers.

"He's the originator and you have seen other candidates approach those policies but with caveats," Carsner said. "The point is, he was the first one. He set out the policies and frankly many of the other candidates have adopted partial policies, but not signed on completely. That's the distinction you'll get with Sanders."

Vanessa Marcano-Kelly is a holding a bilingual Sanders kickoff meeting in Des Moines.

"I'm really committed to getting out the vote," Marcano-Kelly said. "Not just American citizens who are native-born but also those naturalized and Latino voters."

Marcano-Kelly was herself born in Venezuela and became a U.S. citizens in March. Since becoming a citizen, she said she strongly feels the need to be involved in the political process.

"I think apathy is one of the ways we continue perpetuating bad situations that people have to live through," Marcano-Kelly said. "If we don't take the time to really participate in the democracy, then we miss out on a chance to really hold their feet to the fire when they've made promises they don't keep. The current administration has nothing kind to say about immigrants or Latinos. I think that really moves me to be more involved."

For Marcano-Kelly, Sanders has done a good job vocalizing struggles of people like her.

"I think we shouldn't assume automatic solidarity based on identities," Marcano-Kelly said. "I don't want to say that representation doesn't matter — it absolutely does — but I don't want to fall into the thinking that just because someone is a woman or this or that they automatically have the best interests of the community in mind."

Sanders 2020 kickoff events:

Iowa City: Organizing meeting at 4 p.m. Saturday, April 27 at the Iowa City Public Library (Room D), 123 S Linn St. RSVP here.

Coralville: Organizing meeting at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 27 at 10 Redtail Ct. RSVP here.

Cedar Rapids: Organizing meeting at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 27 at Cedar Rapids Public Library (Whipple Auditorium), 450 5th Ave. SE. RSVP here.

Lone Tree: Organizing meeting at 4 p.m. Saturday, April 27 at Blue Top Tap, 201 N. DeVoe St. RSVP here.

Hiawatha: Organizing meeting at 5 p.m. Saturday, April 27 at Karma Coffee Cafe 1725 Boyson Rd. RSVP here.

Marion: Organizing meeting at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, April 27 at Marion Public Library, 1095 6th Ave. RSVP here.

Des Moines: Organizing meeting at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 27 at Vane's house, 4000 56th St. RSVP here.

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Zachary Oren Smith writes about government, growth and development for the Press-Citizen. Reach him at zsmith@press-citizen.com or 319-339-7354, and follow him on Twitter @zacharyos.