Council Bluffs, Ia. — U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders kicked off his second Iowa campaign the same way he concluded his first.

He railed against Wall Street.

He criticized billionaires and the growing chasm between the nation's rich and poor.

He jabbed his right hand in the air, pointing in revulsion as he talked about the high costs of prescription drugs and medical care.

"With your help, we are going to transform this country and create an economy and a government that works for all of us, not just the 1 percent," Sanders said on Thursday, echoing the crux of his last presidential campaign.

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But the 77-year-old senator from Vermont launched his 2020 Iowa campaign miles ahead of where he began before the 2016 Iowa caucuses, when he challenged former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as a political outsider.

Sanders walked onto the stage at the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs Thursday evening as a frontrunner: A December Des Moines Register/CNN/Mediacom Iowa Poll showed the senator polling at 19 percent, second only to former Vice President Joe Biden, who was the preferred candidate for 32 percent of likely Democratic caucusgoers polled.

Three years ago, Sanders called for a "political revolution" fueled by working and middle-class Americans. Those same themes ran throughout his nearly hour-long speech in front of 2,000 rowdy supporters in western Iowa.

More:Iowa Poll: Biden, Sanders top early look at possible Democratic hopefuls in 2020 caucuses

While Sanders has not abandoned his long-held political platform, he said his policy proposals — like instituting a $15-per-hour federal minimum wage, providing Medicare to all Americans and free public college for all — are now mainstream tenets within the Democratic party.

"Those ideas that we talked about here in Iowa four years ago that seemed so radical at the time — remember that?" he asked. "Well today, virtually all of those ideas are supported by strong majorities of the American people."

Sanders pointed to Iowa as the place where his political movement first earned traction. He said he wanted to extend a "very, very special thanks to the people of this great state."

"Iowa, you helped begin the political revolution in 2016," he said, "and with your help on this campaign, we’re going to complete what we started here."

Kierra Near, a 20-year-old student at the nearby University of Nebraska-Lincoln, sat on stage behind Sanders after a staffer plucked her out of the crowd. A registered Democrat, she said she will still consider other candidates. But Sanders' call to enact new policies to combat global climate change got her attention.

"He got me," she said. "I'm all about environmental issues."

Cyndie Poffenbarger said Sanders is best equipped to defeat President Donald Trump in 2020.

"Because he's honest," said the 64-year-old from Council Bluffs. "More people know him this time."

Wearing a "Bernie 2016" cap and a "Bernie 2020" T-shirt, Poffenbarger said Sanders stands out in a wide field of Democratic presidential candidates. She said she's drawn to Sanders' consistent support of universal healthcare and a $15 minimum wage.

"I followed him for like 10 years before he ever ran for president," she said. "I've always admired Bernie Sanders."

Sanders speech on Thursday ticked off a litany of policy proposals and cast a pessimistic view of the state of the nation. He spoke about the nation's opioid crisis, decried the hollowing out of rural America and elicited boos when he rallied against the nation's "prison industrial complex."

"Please make no mistake about it, the struggle we are engaged in is not just about defeating Donald Trump, as important as that is," Sanders said. "This struggle is about taking on the incredibly powerful institutions that control the political and economic life of this country."