Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders spent the past week campaigning across Florida alongside Angie Nixon, the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate. Their joint appearances raise a practical question: who did the rallies draw, and how do they help Nixon's bid?
In Tallahassee, more than 1,000 people filled the Moon event venue. Most of those in the room were already admirers of the two politicians. Longtime Tallahassee resident Scott Keller said he backs them because they do not accept large corporate donations. "I think that's been the problem with our politics over the last 20 or 30 years," he said, arguing that many voters believe neither party will deliver for them because both are "being bought off by corporations."
Jennifer Stevens, another longtime Sanders supporter, said it was incredible that he is still on the trail helping other Democrats seek office and that he has stayed true to his message for so many years.
The speeches leaned on populist left themes. Sanders said most Americans are struggling economically while the wealthiest have "never, ever had it so good." Nixon said Washington is full of corruption and promised that, if elected, working people would have a senator "focused on putting more money in your pocket than lining their own."
Sanders also reaffirmed support for Medicare for All, saying the healthcare system should serve every person rather than make billionaires richer. He said that by making billionaires pay what he called their fair share of taxes, the country could build 7 million units of low-income and affordable housing and provide free, universal childcare.
The Tallahassee event was one of four stops the pair made together in Florida. Rallies like these offer several short- and long-term benefits to a modern campaign. Many attendees recorded video and posted it to social media, and news teams, including WFSU, covered the event. That spreads word of the rally widely without the campaign spending more than the cost of staging it.
Entry to the free event also required attendees to provide their first and last name, email address and zip code. Campaigns can use that information to seek small-dollar donations from a broad base of supporters, a strategy central to both Sanders and Nixon. Friends of Bernie Sanders, the senator's political committee, has received more than 240,000 individual donations totaling over $26 million this election cycle, and more than half of that comes from gifts under $200. About $5 million of the $8 million Nixon has raised also came from smaller donations.
Nixon faces Republican incumbent Ashley Moody, who has raised about $13 million. Roughly $2 million of that total came from small-dollar donors.
The rallies also help turn existing fans into volunteers, and Nixon made that appeal directly. "This is not my campaign. This is our campaign," she told the crowd, asking people to knock on doors, make phone calls and text friends and family to join what she called a People Power campaign.
The approach is not unique to Democrats. Republicans have held rallies across Florida throughout this election cycle for similar purposes.
