Sanders’ run sparks local excitement

Usually, Vermont is an afterthought in presidential politics. Iowa and New Hampshire hog the early spotlight, and candidates tend to court voters in big states.

But this year, with U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders in the race, Vermont has much more presidential excitement than usual.

The buzz includes:

• A Morristown woman who may become a U.S. citizen just so she can vote for Sanders.

• Several major Vermont Democrats — including Gov. Peter Shumlin, former governor Madeleine Kunin and U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy — say they like Sanders, but they’re backing presumed frontrunner Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination.

• Political analysts think Sanders’ blunt approach on progressive issues will connect strongly with many voters.

The time to vote

Claudia Stauber of Morristown has never voted in a U.S. presidential election.

Stauber, 46, a German citizen who moved to the U.S. 23 years ago, had considered becoming a naturalized citizen at one point, but was disillusioned when President George W. Bush was elected to a second term.

After that, Stauber, who has a green card enabling her to live and work in the U.S. permanently, never found a political candidate she felt passionate enough about to spur her to pursue citizenship.

That changed when Sanders, an independent in the Senate, decided to run for the 2016 Democratic nomination for president. Recently she requested the paperwork needed to apply for citizenship, generally a six-month process. She’s brushing up on her knowledge of U.S. history to ensure she’ll pass the test.

She’s excited about the possibility of casting her first-ever vote as an American citizen for Sanders. And, she’s pledged to make monthly donations to his campaign to help him win the Democratic primary.

Stauber says two of her friends, also immigrants, are also applying for U.S. citizenship so they can vote for Sanders.

“He’s not a really liberal guy,” Stauber said. “He has old-fashioned values. He wants families not to have to work three jobs to make ends meet. He wants to make sure veterans who’ve lost their limbs and sanity are taken care of and not on the street begging for food.”

Drawing a crowd

Sanders’ decision to run has sparked mixed reactions across Vermont.

Some say they’re relieved that he is running as a Democrat. Running as an independent would take votes away from the Democratic Party, they say, where Clinton is seen as the frontrunner.

Others say that, while they support him as U.S. senator, they doubt he’ll be able to win the Democratic primary without financial support from the super-PACS he vehemently criticizes.

One thing is certain: He knows how to work a crowd.

About 5,000 people attended the rally May 26 in Burlington where Sanders officially kicked off his campaign.

“I’ve never been to a rally like that,” Stauber said. “It was an amazing experience. People were screaming so loud I thought I’d lose my hearing. They were there with their kids because they wanted them to be a part of it. People were truly excited.”

Sanders’ campaign stops in New Hampshire and Iowa have also drawn overflow crowds.

Rep. Heidi Scheuermann, R-Stowe, isn’t surprised by Sanders’ decision to run or the national attention he has received.

“It certainly makes this election more interesting,” Scheuermann said. “He will serve as a different voice for the progressive wing. His goal is to drive Hillary further left and to force the Democrats to address some of the issues about which he speaks.”

But, while Scheuermann is watching the Sanders campaign, he won’t be getting her vote.

“Obviously Bernie and I are polar opposites politically, so he’s not a candidate I would support,” Scheuermann said. “We don’t see eye to eye on many things. He’s a decent man, but ideologically and politically we’re not on the same page.”

Age and money

Edward Frey of Stowe, a longtime Democrat and a member of the Stowe Democrats, doesn’t take Sanders’ campaign very seriously.

“If you look at it in terms of ‘Does he has a chance of surviving a primary with Hillary?’ the answer is no,” Frey said. “Not only is she well liked, but she has tons of money.”

While more than 10,000 donors have contributed to Sanders’ campaign and he’s been able to raise as much as $1.5 million in 24 hours, he won’t be able to compete against Clinton and other likely Democratic candidates, who will have support from major corporations and super-PACs, according to Frey.

“This election, there’s a possibility that a billion dollars is going to be spent,” Frey said.

He also thinks Sanders’ age — he’s 73 — will work against him and he doesn’t have enough of a political base to pull through the primaries.

“He’s got the old Roosevelt liberals,” Frey said. “They’re a dying breed. He’s got a good hold on the young ones, but they’re just 7 percent of the voting population. I’m not saying his politics are wrong; I’m just saying there aren’t enough Americans who want to vote that way.”

While he agrees with Sanders’ positions on issues such as income inequality and veterans’ affairs, Frey believes Clinton’s pragmatic approach will be more effective.

‘A lot of baggage’

Helene Martin, president of the Stowe Democrats, hopes Sanders will steer the party in a more progressive direction.

“I don’t think he will win, but I think he’ll put pressure on Democrats to address issues from Citizens United to economic disparity to the environment, all of those things that need to be talked about,” Martin said.

She says that, while she would “love to see a woman as president” and will vote for Clinton if she wins the Democratic nomination, she’s “not a fan” of the former secretary of state and U.S. senator.

“She’ll bring a lot of baggage into the White House,” Martin said. “I feel like she’s compromised a lot of things.”

Rep. Avram Patt, D-Worcester, a longtime Sanders supporter, says he’ll vote for whoever wins the Democratic primary, but will support Sanders in the meantime.

“For all of the reasons people have given, including his consistency, I plan to vote for Bernie,” Patt said.

State Sen. Rich Westman, R-Cambridge, sees Sanders’ campaign as “an uphill battle,” but says it could benefit Vermont.

“I think the interest he’s creating is great,” Westman said. “You couldn’t look at his announcement on the Burlington waterfront and not think the setting was beautiful. Hopefully, it will create an interest in Vermont and make people want to visit.”

Holding his own during the primaries will be a challenge for Sanders, Westman said.

“He is running for the Democratic nomination while still serving in the Senate as an independent and that will be difficult,” Westman said.

Grassroots campaigning

Patt was the Washington County Democratic Party chairman in the 1980s, and he ran Madeline Kunin’s first campaign for governor.

Grassroots campaigning and staying on message will be the key to Sanders’ success, he said.

Sanders’ House and Senate campaigns have drawn strong votes from rural parts of the state that otherwise tend to vote conservatively.

“He strikes a chord with people,” Patt said. “Whether he can do that throughout the country, I don’t know.”

One of Sanders’ strengths is his unwavering stance on social issues such as health care and education, Patt said.

“He is who he is and he can’t be any different,” Patt said. “I think that’s what people like about him. He’s an issues-oriented person.”

Further, Sanders knows how to connect with his audiences, whether addressing farmers in Franklin County or working-class citizens in Barre.

“He doesn’t just do sound bites,” Patt said. “If he succeeds, it will be because he keeps doing what he has always done.”

‘He brings out hope’

Stauber’s first face-to-face encounter with Sanders took place five years ago at the Warren Fourth of July parade, when she ran up and hugged him as he walked along the route.

“I told him, ‘I’m so pleased to meet you. You’re one of the reasons I live in Vermont.’ Only in Vermont can you do that and not get handcuffed by security guards.”

Since then, she’s spoken to him at local town hall-style meetings where he serves a free meal and offers people an opportunity to talk about their concerns.

“I really liked what he had to say,” Stauber said. “I thought he was an extremely thoughtful man.”

As far as Sanders’ socialist-Democrat ideology is concerned, it’s unlikely to hurt his campaign, according to Patt.

Voters likely to support him understand the difference between socialism and communism and equate his values with those of Presidents Franklin Roosevelt and Dwight Eisenhower and the social welfare programs they helped create.

Raising the money needed for a national campaign will likely be one of Sanders’ greatest challenges.

“He has raised a significant amount of money in a short time from small donations,” Patt said. “How much he can raise in total remains to be seen.”

From Stauber’s perspective, Sanders doesn’t need as much money as his competitors to run a successful campaign. She points to the way his supporters are using social media to spread his messages on national issues and bring attention to his campaign.

“People engage in a different way with him,” Stauber said. “I think people are more willing to do things for him for free. It’s this whole philosophy of the underdog.”

She thinks Sanders could land a surprise victory over Clinton, especially if he draws enough first-time voters to the polls and re-energizes registered voters who’ve become disillusioned with the political process.

“I think he brings out hope in us,” Stauber said. “Even students and young people are excited. They are starting to get re-engaged.

“I find it amazing. If you could pick someone to make huge changes in this country, you wouldn’t pick a 73-year-old man who looks like Albert Einstein exploded. He’s such a normal guy. That’s what really speaks to everyone.”