Sanders, once thought to be a long shot for the Democratic presidential nomination, has been steadily gaining momentum — and crowds of his supporters are blowing away those for all other candidates.
"When we were coming to Arizona, someone said Arizona is a conservative state," Sanders told the audience. "Somebody told me that people are giving up on the political process. Not what I see here tonight. I cannot believe this crowd."
Supporters cheered enthusiastically, giving Sanders a standing ovation and chanting his name. Many wore green Robin Hood hats.
"What this campaign is about is saying that our great country and our government belong to all of the people and not a handful of billionaires," Sanders stated while speaking against income inequality.
"My Republican friends think that the CEOs of large corporations are the job-creators," the Vermont senator said. "You know who the job creators are? You are the job creators. When working people have money in their pocket, they go out and they buy goods and they buy services, and when they do that, they create jobs. But when millions of people have nothing to spend, we're not creating the jobs that we need."
Sanders also spoke on tuition-free universities and colleges, and climate change, two of his key platforms. During remarks on the environment, he even gave a shout-out to the pope.
"God bless Pope Francis," Sanders said, referring to the pontiff's recent encyclical on climate change. "Now I think sometimes people think my economic views are radical. You should hear what this guy said."
Sanders, who is calling for a political revolution, is still trailing Clinton and her super PACs by 40 points in the polls. But the senator’s grassroots campaign has the people power — and that does not seem to be slowing down.
