Sanders Draws Thousands To Greensboro Rally

Democratic presidential hopeful and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders paid a visit to Greensboro Sunday night, spending about an hour stumping in the Triad. 

Only a few months ago, many believed Sanders would be an also-ran for the Democratic nomination. But he's closing the gap on party front-runner Hillary Clinton, and politicos and voters have taken notice.

That includes the capacity crowd and overflow room at the Special Events Center at the Greensboro Coliseum Sunday night. According to Coliseum staff, more than 9,100 people showed up.

In his hour-long speech, the Vermont senator stumped on his marquee issues, things like closing the wage gap, reforming Wall Street, and making tuition at public universities free.

“Today we have hundreds of thousand of bright, young, qualified people who want a higher education, who want to go to college, but can't go to college for one reason: their family lacks the money,” Sanders told the audience to explosive applause.

Sanders' popularity among Democrats has been steadily rising since he hit the campaign trail.

Alex Moore, 18, is a Duke University student voting in his first election. Moore says he used to be a steadfast supporter of Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton, but Sanders won him over.

“He's just so down-to-earth and such a people's person, and the excitement in this room is like no other political rally I've been to. People love him,” Moore says.

The latest polls suggest Sanders is either tied or leading Hillary Clinton in the Iowa and New Hampshire primaries.