Sen. Bernie Sanders, fresh off a strong showing in a Wisconsin straw poll, will begin a weekend trip to the Hawkeye State Friday evening with a town meeting at Drake University.
Sanders, Vermont’s junior senator, is looking to carry on the momentum he has seen at recent campaign events in Iowa, New Hampshire and Minnesota. The self-described democratic socialist remains far behind Hillary Clinton, the former First Lady, New York senator and secretary of state in the Democratic primary, according to national polls.
Clinton is holding a formal campaign kick-off event in New York City on Saturday and is then expected to make her own trip to Iowa.
Sanders, meanwhile, has been attracting large, enthusiastic crowds at campaign events since formally announcing his bid for the White House in Burlington late last month. He has emerged as the most credible threat to Clinton, polling well ahead of former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley and former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee.
Last week, Sanders had a surprisingly strong showing in a straw poll at the Wisconsin Democratic convention, earning the support of 41 percent of the delegates to Clinton’s 49 percent.
Friday’s town hall meeting is the first of several events Sanders will hold in Iowa this weekend. He will host an open house at his Iowa campaign headquarters Saturday morning, followed by another town meeting at the United Automobile Workers Local 893 chapter in Marshalltown. Saturday night Sanders will deliver the keynote address at the Hawkeye Labor Council AFL-CIO Steak Fry in Cedar Rapids.
On Sunday, Sanders is holding a town meetings in Waterloo and Iowa Falls, and will attend the Warren County Democrats 12th Annual Summer Picnic and Town Meeting in Indianola.
This story was originally published by the Vermont Press Bureau and reprinted under a partnership with the bureau.
