Bernie Sanders chugs along before NH vote

MANCHESTER, N.H. – Steve Earle’s “The Revolution Starts Now” played over loudspeakers as several hundred people waited to see Bernie Sanders at one of his final presidential campaign stops before New Hampshire votes.

The campaign is raising money on the premise that the political revolution will start here Tuesday — with a decisive win in the Democratic primary over opponent Hillary Clinton.

Sanders began two speeches Monday by recounting how his campaign overcame tough odds.

“New Hampshire, we started 30 points behind,” Sanders said in Manchester, “and I think we’re going to do just fine tomorrow.”

He picked up energy from the crowds as he cycled through the stump speech: Campaign finance reform. Pay equity for women. Reducing reliance on fossil fuels. Replacing a health-insurance system that saddles people with high deductibles. All familiar territory from the past nine months, but key for listeners who — yes, even the day before the New Hampshire primary — might be hearing the talking points for the first time.

Sanders appears poised to win New Hampshire, the nation's first primary of the presidential election cycle. An average of recent polls by RealClearPolitics shows him prevailing over former Secretary of State Clinton by 13 percentage points.

But the numbers could shift at the last minute, as unaffiliated voters can choose either a Democratic or a Republican ticket, and residents can register to vote on the day of the primary.

Monday, about 4 percent of likely Democratic voters remained undecided, according to a new University of Massachusetts Lowell/7News poll, while 22 percent were leaning toward a candidate but said they could change their minds.

Roddrick Goodjohn III, an 18-year-old college student from New Haven, Connecticut, was unsure whether he’d vote for Sanders or Clinton.

Goodjohn walked out of Sanders’ speech at Daniel Webster College in Nashua after about 20 minutes, supportive of Sanders' intentions but doubtful the candidate could fulfill his promises.

“In America, there’s really nothing free,” Goodjohn said. He questioned why Sanders was lamenting the lack of jobs for African American youth while also pushing to raise the minimum wage to $15.

“Me personally, I believe that’ll create less jobs for minorities,” said Goodjohn, who is black.

Another of Sanders’ first-time listeners wont be casting a ballot for at least another 10 years.

Monday was a snow day for James DeFilippi, 8, of Swamscott, Massachusetts, who has been following the election more closely than many adult voters and gave a speech in favor of Clinton at a family “caucus” meeting.

James donned an American flag tie and a Patriots winter hat, grabbed a handmade sign that said “Turn to Bern!” and spent the morning at a Sanders rally in Nashua with his mother, Melissa DeFilippi, and his 4-year-old sister.

“I think they’re a tie, I guess,” James said of Sanders and Clinton. “I guess now I’m in the middle, with my mom.”

Sanders travels with a larger entourage these days. He’s trailed by dozens of local, national and international journalists, including some who travel with the campaign on a media bus.

In Nashua, he walked a line of selfie-seeking college students with his wife, Jane O’Meara Sanders — and a Secret Service detail. In Manchester, at least five men stood guard around Sanders at a theater, where three of Sanders’ grandchildren sat on stage in folding chairs, fidgeting and clapping along with the crowd.

Sanders attended a total of four campaign events Monday, including a concert featuring nationally known bands and Vermont musicians, despite a snowstorm that kept many people home on the eve of the primary.

This article was first posted online on Monday, Feb. 8, 2016. Contact April Burbank at 802-660-1863 or aburbank@freepressmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/AprilBurbank.