Bernie Sander' Valley supporters optimistic about next week's primary

YOUNGSTOWN

Despite Hillary Clinton’s historic success in Ohio, supporters of Bernie Sanders are optimistic about the senator’s odds in Ohio’s primary election Tuesday.

After an upset win in Michigan, Sanders’ campaign is counting on Ohio’s historically strong union base, disenfranchised workforce and young voters to prove that the Michigan win was more than a fluke.

Sanders’ official campaign efforts have been minimal in Ohio, and leading up to the primary the senator has been focusing almost exclusively on bolstering support in Florida.

This has done little to curb the enthusiasm of Sanders’ Ohioan supporters. The first Sanders campaign headquarters to open in Ohio in Lakewood was launched with nearly no official support from the campaign. Grass-roots volunteers across have been building an Ohio support base for the Democratic candidate independently of the official campaign.

Bob Haas, a volunteer at the recently opened Sanders’ campaign headquarters in Niles, has been working alongside other volunteers to rally support for the senator in the Valley.

The volunteers are not just sticking fliers in mailboxes and doors. “We’re ringing doorbells, we’re talking to people — I’m going to Kent State here in a few days to talk about distributing literature there and YSU has an active volunteer group,” Haas said. “We’re trying to engage people face to face, and it’s working.”

Read more about the campaigns and their projected performance in next Tuesday's primary elections in Saturday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.