SALT LAKE CITY — Despite temperatures that hovered near the freezing point early Monday morning, Jake Sims, of Kaysville, found his place in line at 6 a.m. to see Sen. Bernie Sanders speak. It was four hours before doors at the Utah State Fairpark were even scheduled to open.

Three hours later, that line wrapped around the street near the entrance as scores of people eagerly waited to see the Vermont senator and Democratic presidential candidate speak at the outdoor venue Monday.

"I'm a big Bernie guy," Sims said as he stood in line. For Sims, Sanders gets to the point and believes the issues he campaigns on, which Sims said sets him apart from the field.

"With Bernie, he's really straight-forward," Sims said. "And it actually feels like he cares. He doesn't try to finagle you into voting for him — like he wants to help you out. He's not just trying to consolidate power for himself. He's trying to help out people."

Sims was just one of the thousands who attended Sanders' rally, which fell the day before Super Tuesday — when Utah and 13 other states' presidential primaries are being held. Sanders visited Utah to rally his supporters in the Beehive State before the election.

"I'm here this afternoon in this beautiful, beautiful state to ask for your support tomorrow," Sanders said. "I'm asking you to not only come out and vote, but to bring your friends, your neighbors, your parents, your kids, your coworkers — the whole shebang. Bring them all out. Let us have the highest voter turnout in the history of the Utah primary."

Sanders spoke to the crowd for about 40 minutes, gaining massive cheers as he talked about his policies. The crowd also jeered each time he brought up President Donald Trump or the Republican Party.

Sanders' Utah appeal

This isn't Sanders' first attempt at the Democratic nomination, and it's not his first time rallying in Utah. It's a state he's had success with in the past, too. Sanders defeated the eventual 2016 Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton by a landslide at the Utah Democratic caucus four years ago, collecting nearly 80% of the vote. He ended up collecting 29 of Utah's 37 delegates that year. That came after two rallies in Salt Lake City garnered thousands of supporters.

This time around, Sanders came to the state's capital after emerging as the early front-runner, holding a delegate lead over former Vice President Joe Biden heading into Super Tuesday. And while the race for the party's nomination is wider than it was in 2016, Sanders appears to still be popular among Democrats in Utah. A Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics poll released late Thursday evening found him polling at 28% among 298 likely Democratic voters. Former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg came in second at 19%.

The list of candidates has dropped since that poll was released. Billionaire Tom Steyer and former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg dropped out of the race over the weekend. Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar then dropped out Monday, hours after she spoke at an event in Salt Lake City.

Connor Davis, of Layton, and Faith Garibay, of Ogden, were standing a few spots behind Sims in line. Garibay said Sanders' progressive platform is what drew her to the rally.

"I really hope that he gets into office," she said. "He's the only person who doesn't have conflicts. Everyone else has their own thing that isn't going well for them, like Bloomberg — a little questionable. (Sanders) is generally just a great guy, and he has a lot of changes that make America what it needs to be and what it has always wanted to be."

Davis sees Sanders as a leader, which is what drew him to attend and support the senator.

"He's able to inspire groups of people far better than, I feel like, any recent president has," Davis said. "His entire campaign is funded by people, so you know there are real people who back him."

As Davis spoke, a man driving a pickup truck with Sanders 2020 signs sped past the crowd honking. The crowd cheered as the driver yelled "Democracy!"

The rally

Sanders took to the stage after a Utah-based bluegrass group performed and a solemn land acknowledgment was held. Joined onstage by his wife, Jane, Sanders quickly took a jab at Trump, whom he called "the most dangerous president in the modern history" of the U.S.

"Now, I have heard that Utah is a conservative state," Sanders said. "But let me just say this: Whether you are conservative or whether you're a Republican, independent or Democrat, you understand that the United States cannot have this president — somebody who is a pathological liar."

A group of Bernie Sanders supporters holds signs that spell out "Bernie" as Sanders speaks at the Utah State Fairpark on Monday, March 2, 2020. Sanders is seeking the Democratic nomination for president. (Photo: Carter Williams, KSL.com)

Over the span of the ensuing 40 minutes, Sanders continued explaining his platform, which he proclaimed would work for all Americans. It includes:

Increasing the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $15.

Raising the minimum salaries for teachers to $60,000 per year.

Making public colleges and universities tuition-free and cancelling student debt while reserving tax incentives given to U.S. corporations.

A universal health care system that would eliminate premiums, co-pays, deductibles and most out-of-pocket expenses. "It's not radically different from what goes on all over the world,” Sanders said. “People are telling me that Medicare for all is radical; what is radical is that the average American family spends $12,000 per year for health care."

Implementing a Green New Deal to address climate change. That includes working with China, Russia, India and other countries to address the issue. "Instead of spending $1.8 trillion every year of destruction designed to kill each other, maybe, just maybe, we should come together and fight our common enemy, which is climate change," Sanders said.

Reforming the criminal system, including an end to the cash bail system, private prisons and detention centers. He also wants to legalize marijuana.

Restoring the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, also known as DACA, and passing "comprehensive" immigration reform.

Bringing forward gun safety legislation, including adding universal background checks, ending the "gun show loophole" and ending the sale of "assault weapons" in the U.S.

Expanding funding for Planned Parenthood.

Sanders concluded his speech by talking about problems in the U.S. that were fixed by people gathering together and seeking change.

"That is how change takes place. That is why our campaign is not just a campaign for president; it is a multi-generational, multi-racial movement," he said. "It is a movement of blacks and whites and Latinos, Native Americans, Asian-Americans; it is a movement of gay and straight coming together."

There were a handful of protesters in the crowd, as well as at least two people standing near the stage holding "let dairy die" signs as Sanders spoke. However, the rally continued without interruption. Minutes before Sanders took the stage, Trump Victory, the president's reelection committee, also issued a prepared statement against Sanders.

“Bernie Sanders’ complete embrace of socialism is entirely at odds with the desires of voters in Utah," the statement reads. "As President Trump continues to deliver on his promises to provide more jobs, fairer trade deals, and lower taxes, Utahns know that Sanders’ half-baked socialist schemes would be disastrous for their state and undo all progress they’ve enjoyed.”

Meanwhile, Sanders supporters like Sims are optimistic Sanders can win the nomination. That said, he's wary that Democratic Party could intervene.

"He has a lot more support — relatively — than when he ran in 2016," Sims said. "I think he can; it's just going to be hard. That's just a fact. ... But everyone I've talked to here today, and all my other friends who like Bernie, we're not a crowd that is going to give up too easily."

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