INDIANOLA, Iowa (AP) – Bernie Sanders likes to call it “practicing democracy.”
The Democratic presidential contender doesn’t take the stage to a blaring soundtrack. He doesn’t have a teleprompter or Secret Service agents. But when his Brooklyn accent booms out at a campaign stop in rural Iowa, heads nod in approval.
In Sanders’ uphill race against Hillary Rodham Clinton, blunt talk is working for him.
The Vermont senator is drawing sizable crowds in early voting states and gaining in some early polls – particularly in New Hampshire.
Clinton remains the overwhelming favorite, but it’s becoming clear that Sanders isn’t just a novelty.