Amanda Coyne

The Greenville News

Sen. Bernie Sanders drew a loud crowd of more than 5,200 to the Bon Secours Wellness Arena on Sunday evening, fresh off a closer-than-expected loss to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the Nevada Democratic caucus.

Sanders lost by five percentage points, but reminded the crowd in Greenville how far the campaign had come.

"Just five months ago, they had us down 25 points in Nevada," Sanders said. "Clearly, some things have changed."

Sanders is still trailing Clinton in South Carolina by an average of 24 percentage points in the polls, although that has gone down since last week, when he was down by an average of 29 percentage points. The Greenville rally signified the kick-off of Sanders' final push in his campaign for the South Carolina Democratic primary, which will be held on Saturday.

Sanders spoke for nearly an hour to an enraptured crowd, using much of the stump material he has across the country. At some points, the crowd spoke along with him, as if singing along at a concert.

The loudest cheers came for Sanders' trademark positions: universal healthcare, taxing the wealthy and Wall Street speculation, and higher education reform, including free public college education for all students. At one point, Sanders asked the crowd who had student debt. Audience members began shouting out totals: $85,000. $60,000. $220,000. $100,000.

"No one should have $200,000 in debt," Sanders said, after one person shouted her brother had that much in student loan debt.

But woven into his standard talking points was Sanders posturing himself as a viable candidate in the general election, something some Democrats have worried about the self-described democratic socialist.

"If you want a candidate who is going to defeat Donald Trump, you're looking at him," Sanders said, to which the crowd applauded and cheered for nearly 10 straight seconds. "Nothing would give me greater pleasure than beating Donald Trump."

Sanders was introduced by actor Danny Glover, former NAACP President Ben Jealous and Laurens County Councilman Garrett McDaniel, all black men. Sanders' campaign has made a concerted effort to gain support in South Carolina's black community, which has been called a "firewall" of support for Clinton. While Sanders has been able to erode some of Clinton's African-American voting bloc, the former secretary of state has a lead over Sanders among black voters in South Carolina that slightly exceeds her lead among all voters.

Taylor Colquitt, a Sanders supporter, was excited to see the Vermont senator for the first time. Sanders' plan for free public college for all Americans resonated with her in particular; she's studying to become a teacher.

"As a future teacher, I want to be able to tell my students that they can all go to college one day," Colquitt said.

Trevor Gordon was walking around the arena wearing a Reagan/Bush '84 T-shirt. The Republican is not a Sanders supporter, but wanted to "know what I'm paying for" if Sanders wins the presidency.

"The numbers don't add up," Gordon said, referencing Sanders' economic plans that include free public college and universal healthcare.

Gordon did, however, praise Sanders on one point.

"I have to give him credit," Gordon said. "He's the only politician who's been consistent in his message through his entire career, back to when he was mayor of Burlington, Vermont."