bernie sanders crowd madison
Posted on by Jason Easley

Record Breaking Crowd Of 10,000-13,000 Turning Out In Madison For Bernie Sanders

Update: The attendance number of 10,000 has been confirmed and PoliticusUSA has exclusive video of the crowd here.

PoliticusUSA is reporting that a record-breaking crowd of 10,000-13,000 is filling up the venue and outside at Bernie Sanders’ rally in Madison, Wisconsin.

Here is a photo from PoliticusUSA’s Hrafnkell Haraldsson of the line of people forming outside ahead of the event:

bernie sanders crowd madison

A shot of the crowd in front of the stage:

crowd-stage-sanders-madison

More pics from Hrafnkell Haraldsson taken before the event:

bernie-crowd-3

bernie-crowd-2b

bernie-crowd-1

Here is a great panorama of the huge crowd via Wisconsin for Bernie:

Haraldsson reports that the Sanders campaign received 13,000 RSVPs for the event. Veterans Memorial Coliseum holds 10,000 people inside, but the crowd is so large that the audio of Sanders’ speech is being pumped outside to the people who RSVPed, but can’t get in.

If Sanders does draw 10,000+ for the event, he will set the record for the largest crowd at a campaign event by a 2016 candidate in either party. Hillary Clinton’s rally in New York City drew 5,500, and no Republican has drawn an organic crowd that is close to the thousands that Bernie Sanders is consistently attracting on the campaign trail.

Bernie Sanders’ economic message about inequality and the need to take the country back from the billionaires has resonated deeply with millions of Americans, and those voters are coming out by the thousands to support their candidate.

Those in the media who didn’t believe that there is something happening in the Heartland of this nation are getting a wake-up call in Madison tonight.

Watch the Sanders rally live:

This is a developing story. The post will be updated with more pictures and video as it arrives from our reporters on the scene.

65 Replies to “Record Breaking Crowd Of 10,000-13,000 Turning Out In Madison For Bernie Sanders”

  1. Now I understand why the Republicans are so hot and bothered for moola.

    Paying for the crowds to show up costs the Big Bucks.

    And Bernie? Doesn’t have that overhead.

  2. Bernie is the liberal I’ve been waiting for since JFK and LBJ.
    I came into the world during JFK so that’s why I’M PROUD TO BE A LIBERAL

    I admire our democrats, FDR, JFK and LBJ and how they’ve IMPROVED America.

    JFK paved the way for LBJ’s legacy of medicare/medicade

    Democrat Roosevelt – Social Security
    Democrat Johnson – Medicare/Medicaid
    Democrat Obama – Healthcare Reform

  3. If poor republicans could see passed gay marriage and a few other issues, they’d be for him also!

    I think the fact that Bernie will save us from a corrupt government should allow everyone to see passed other differences of opinion.

  4. I love Bernie, he could pick Warren for VP, then in 2024 she can be our first woman POTUS after being our first woman VP. If we will elect people like them all across America we can take our country back from the oligarchs and the crazy right wing.

  6. Reading FB comments, there are many center-right republicans who are for Bernie since they’re sick of what the tea bag/republican party has become.

  10. $45Million sets record with 91% of donations less than $100. Newest CNN poll Hillary topples all democrats and republicans. Her grassroots base is huge! Go Hillary 2016

  11. Not if she can’t win the primary. I think she is going to get disassembled at the debates when she is forced to finally open her mouth and defend her corporatist stances.

  12. You sure? He voted against comprehensive immigration. He voted against the Brady Act to regulate guns. He voted against closing Gitmo. He has had three bills pass of his origin, two of them renaming post offices.

    He told Black voters not to ‘vote race’ as if they did. He has given only lip service to LGBT rights but has been MIA on the issue. He never showed up in Charleston (even the odious Santorum did) nor has spoken against police violence on Black people. He’s said nothing on any issues at all about racism in America and marching in ’63 is over a half century ago.

    Seriously? He’s mad at Wall Street but does…what? Tax the rich? That’s IT? I need more and hope you will insist that if he’s Left of HRC he actually has policies to hold her feet to the fire. Right now he gets white young crowds. So does Rand Paul. We deserve a president who REALLY has policies, not just rant. We all deserve more.

  14. Bernie Sanders inspiring message may be the fastest growing social movement since Early Christianity!

  15. Madison, Denver, Minneapolis. That is big crowd guaranteed cities according to all the sources forever… Obama had 30,000 with 6,000 overflow in 2012.

    Bernie is no Obama, that’s for sure.

    http://www.nbc15.com/home/headlines/President-Obama-to-Visit-Madison-on-Thursday-171930621.html

    And to the person suggesting Warren be VP. Nancy Pelosi took her down today by saying she doesn’t speak for the party. The wing nuts of the left tea party are not the tail that wags the dog.

    IT IS A JOKE to those of us who have been in this game for decades. Liz attacking Mary Jo, yelling lies about TPA/TPP and getting schooled by Obama.

    Bernie and Liz are lightweights and this is a big dawg game. They are both New England – good strategy there… lol.

    Politics 101, most of you fail.

  16. Oh yeah, forgot to say Liz said she isn’t endorsing Bernie yet. She isn’t sure if she should. Does that sound like she believes he has a chance in a billion.

    Biden is outpolling him and Biden can’t win and knows it.

  17. I’m with you on that, churchlady4044. If President Obama had done any of the above, the left that support Senator Sanders and who love to vilify PBO for nothing, actually, would crucify him. I wonder why they give Bernie Sanders a pass on that very right-wing record?

  18. Democrat Bill Clinton – 22 million new jobs, booming economy, and balanced budget.

    Senator Sanders is not the Liberal I’ve been waiting for based on churchlady4044’s post noting his voting record. I can only hope Sanders keeps his promise not to be a spoiler in 2016 because Blacks and Latinos will NOT vote for him.

  19. “From Ferguson to Baltimore and across this nation, too many African-Americans and other minorities find themselves subjected to a system that treats citizens who have not committed crimes as if they were criminals and that is unacceptable.” ~ Bernie Sanders, in his Iowa speech. He has said something similar at every speech.

  20. This is pure fabrication and bias. “He voted against comprehensive immigration.” He voted against it once because the bill contained guest worker programs that would have hurt American workers and allowed corporations to exploit immigrant labor. He’s very clear about this: http://lasvegassun.com/news/2015/jun/19/bernie-sanders-wants-expand-actions-limit-deportat/
    He has voted for other immigration bills and supports a path to citizenship and an end to mass deportation.

    “He has given only lip service to LGBT rights but has been MIA on the issue.” This is a despicable lie. Bernie Sanders voted against DOMA, which Bill Clinton signed, he has called for marriage equality for years, whereas Hillary opposed it as recently as 2013. In 1973 he called for abolishing laws wrt homosexuality. http://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/sanders-on-gay-marriage-time-for-supreme-court-to-catch-up-to-the-american-people

  21. Really? A link showing Obama drew 30k people in Madison in October 2012? right before the general…When he was a sitting President up for reelection. You might seem more credible if you weren’t trying to compare that situation to this one, where Sanders is drawing 13k seven months before the first primary! And he has a liitle bit lower national profile than a sitting US president. But yeah, Politics 101 and all that stuff…

  22. As for Charleston, Sanders sent around an email calling the shooting an act of racism and asking his supporters to donate to the AME church. IN this very speech in Madison he talked about ending police brutality against african-americans, and he talked about how youth unemployment for blacks is over 50%, an issue nobody else addresses. He worked with African American Rep. John Conyers from Detroit to introduce legislation aimed at helping young people of all races find employment.
    http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/06/19/today-in-politics-charleston-shooting-leads-to-a-campaign-pause/?_r=0
    Sure, he voted against the Brady Bill. But he voted for the assault weapons plan, for Obama’s entire gun control package after Newtown, and he has said recently (last Sunday on This Week) that he still supports these measures. The point is, almost every claim you make about Sanders is either false or misleading. Why, when this information is so easily available?

  23. In the 60s, Sanders was arrested protesting against segregation in schools. He was a leader in fighting the University of Chicago’s segregated off-campus housing. Was Hillary Clinton ever arrested fighting for civil rights? Was Barack Obama even? The point is, he didn’t just “march” as you put it, to try and make it sound like he was swept up in things he didn’t care that much about. He was a leader on these issues, and put his own freedom at stake fighting for the equal rights of African-Americans. And that amounts to “silence”? Give me a break.
    http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026741056

  24. Rin, as you noted, Obama had massive crowds in the very same city. He’d been POTUS for.. Hmm, a few years? That might put a spotlight on him and get name recognition perhaps? Bernie has only begun to come out into the spotlight and gets 10,000+. Your comparison does not hold up.

    Regarding Pelosi’s “taking down” Warren today, Pelosi does not speak for the “Democrats” saying the things she did.

    You Fail

  26. And I have no doubt those center-right faceless Republicans will work very hard to push Bernie over Hillary (who can actually beat any Republican the other side puts forward), hoping they can pull off the same stunt they had in 2000.

    I can only hope Senator Sanders won’t be a Nader and will keep his promise not to become a spoiler in 2016.

  27. My point exactly. I was at the Obama rally in Madison in October of 2007 and it was very well attended also…. about 4000-5000 people showed up. I don’t live in Wi anymore, but 13k showing up for Sanders 6 months before the first primary…..WOW!!!

  30. You couldn’t be more off-base, ICH.
    Bernie Sanders is striking a chord across the land that’s appealing to good folks from all walks of life. He has the finest mind and noblest heart of any politician running for office today.

  31. He voted against closing Gitmo.
    Was that really what he was against though??

    The bill you are thinking of was merely to transfer the prisoners to a U.S. location, not to set them free or even improve their treatment. In fact the bill would actually diminish the rights of detainees in the future
    Which is why ACLU was very much against it

    http://m.dailykos.com/story/2013/06/14/1216105/-The-House-Just-Voted-Against-Ending-Indefinite-Detention-Which-13-Democrats-Went-Along

    People should educate themselves on specific issues before they leave comments.

  32. You obviously have not researched Bernie for yourself. Why don’t you do your homework instead of spreading lies Ms Churchlady?

  34. To the person who said Bernie has only paid lip service to gay rights, I’ll have you know that he has been on the side of gay people as an elected official, since he was mayor of Burlington. Bernie is the one candidate who is speaking truth to power and if we can rise to the occasion, black and white together, we can and will take this country forward to the beloved community Dr. King and so many others died to bring us to.

  35. I like Bernie, and will vote for whomever the democratic nominee is but, this reminds me of the enthusiasm George McGovern inspired. Very ideological, got the nomination but couldn’t seal the deal in the end. Look what we got then.

  36. Read the article more carefully before you make arguments against it.

    “If Sanders does draw 10,000+ for the event, he will set the record for the largest crowd at a campaign event by a 2016 candidate in either party. Hillary Clinton’s rally in New York City drew 5,500, and no Republican has drawn an organic crowd that is close to the thousands that Bernie Sanders is consistently attracting on the campaign trail.”

  37. I hope you watched his speech tonight. He addressed all that you said he hasn’t. He has been talking about LGBT rights since he was mayor of Burlington in the early 70’s. Looks to me like you have been reading the wrong blogs and watching the very wrong news. Quite a bit of ado over nothing.

  40. I’m not questioning his noble heart. I’m questioning his votes. I don’t care how he slices or dices it, or how hard his supporters defend his “No” votes, fact of the matter is, he voted NO to closing Gitmo, undercutting President Obama’s campaign promise to close that terrorist creating camp – and it’s still not closed TODAY.

    Dennis Kucinich took principled “No” votes, electing to make perfect the enemy of the good – which was stupid – but it still boils down to a NO VOTE. It still resulted in GITMO REMAINING OPEN. A true Liberal would want to do at least something to shut that place DOWN.

    As for appealing to good folks all across the nation…we’ll see. In that sea of 13,000 faces, I didn’t see much color. You? And asking Obama-hater Cornell West to appeal to Blacks, well, black people don’t take lightly to Cornell’s betrayal, as we saw in 2014.

    Senator Sanders WILL NOT capture the Black or Latino vote. Without it, he will lose.

  41. Okay, nice speech, but what exactly does he plan to do to change that?

    His speech is pretty but I see no solutions, no ideas. Bernie Sanders is big on generalizations but it’s the nitty-gritty that gets ‘er done.

  42. Precisely. And with demographics rapidly changing in this country, he can’t win the general if he doesn’t have the Black, Latino, and Asian vote – and he hasn’t given us any ideas what he’s going to do about it other than pretty words.

  44. It is NOT a fabrication, as you’ve pointed out yourself. It’s FACT.

    And bias?? Puh-leeeze. It doesn’t matter that he believed the comprehensive immigration reform bill “wasn’t good enough”. Latinos and Asians will see it as a negative against them, and without their votes, he can kiss the presidency buh-bye…because in their eyes, he wasn’t there when they needed him so they won’t be there when he needs them.

    As I’ve said, over and over again, I hope – and I’ll hold him and his supporters to this promise of his – that he won’t be a spoiler. Let’s hope he’s a man of his word or we’ll have a 2000 redux – and another Bush in the White House.

  46. Obama was just about tied with Hillary in the polls throughout 2007.

    He also drew crowds of 75,000 and yet Hillary got more primary votes in 2008.

    Hillary has 65-75% of the Dem voters, Bernie has a tiny percent of that and has remained a flat line for past 30 days.

    OF OBAMA IN 2007: In February, Mr. Obama drew 20,000 people to the Town Lake in Austin, Texas. In March, 10,000 people crowded into a plaza outside City Hall in Oakland, Calif. In April, he attracted 20,000 at an outdoor rally at Yellow Jacket Park in Atlanta. 24,000 people to Washington Square Park.

    http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/09/27/obama-rallies-huge-crowd-in-new-york/?_r=0

    You are all in an alternate reality.

  47. AndyCa You say the tea party people are fed up with the rethugs, they come crawling back to our ranks, smelling of the smut from the thugs, dripping with the slime and we are supposed to trust them??
    Not on my life will I!!! Tea Party returns had better get clean first. Prove them selves they have much dirt to remove.
    One of their own once said ” trust but verify”

  48. Gene, as I have said many times, I will vote for any Dem. however, Bernie is now 73 if elected he will be 81 at the end of his first term, 89 at the end of his second and possibly the oldest President we have ever had. I do hope we have a very good Vice president! Just in case?

  49. In Sanders versus Clinton I think what you might see if Clinton wins the primary is Sanders supporters NOT throwing their support to Clinton and letting the chips fall. The rationalization that she is better than a republican a lot f people aren’t buying anymore. She is NO different than any of the republicans running as to big business and the 1%, she might be slightly softer on womans issues but that’s about all you are going to get with her. Ill sit out 2016 if Clinton is the candidate and I bet a lot of sanders supporters would too.

  50. 1)You are all in an alternate reality.
    2)Politics 101, most of you fail.
    “““““““““““““““““““`
    Easy there, Rin…. . If you go after Bernie and his supporters too hard….which you have to admit you tend to do… you boost his stature and show fear. Then again, if you leave him alone, he could continue to rise and appear to be less of an underdog and more of Hillary’s equal.

    Funny how you’re back to posting comments here again after having announced your grand exit. It appears Team Clinton doesn’t know how to deal with Bernie.

  53. DON’T FEED the TROLLS !
    Do what the Deaniacs did in 2003 and donate to Bernie !

    If Bernie, and all of those supporting him push Hillary to sensible positions ( non center-right ), then fine. It’s up to us to decide if it’s expedient lip service.

    If the oligarchs foresee that the GOP clown bus are certain losers, they’ll crowd fund Hillary. The Billionaire Class will quickly abandon a lost cause, and they always hedge their bets anyway. The bulk of their dirty $$$ will then go to downballot races, to keep obstructing whichever Democrat is elected president.

    Keep Bernie’s words of advice forward: Think Big ! …And keep repeating “Billionaire Class” to remind the smaller minds who the real enemies of democracy are.

  54. He needs the Obama coalition to get behind him, and get the enthusiasm back UP….IT is lacking in the democratic party right now, we can’t allow that to happen….

  55. This Sanders supporter will vote for Clinton if she gets the nomination.

    Why?

    Because I’m all too well aware of the FACT that when I don’t vote- I vote for a Republican.

  56. @mark, nice try, but NO ONE is buying that BULL$HIT you threw up here! how old are you??! because you really think as a ”democrat” that just because YOUR candidate didn’t win, that you’ll just sit at home and NOT vote for the democratic party nominee?! LMFAO nice try @mark, you’re a republican TROLL or as @DJ said, you’re a FOOL!!

  57. @churchlady, you have truly lost your mind! YOU don’t know anything about Bernie! I’m thinking you’ve substituted your CHURCH communion WINE with 151 BACARDI, listen @churchlady, stick to subjects that you comprehend, because politics isn’t your area, over the last year or so your post just keep hitter rock bottom, BTW why don’t YOU look up Bernie’s arrest record, it’s ALL about fighting for civil rights! CHECK 1963 in CHICAGO! you clown!

  58. If Bernie sanders wins the democratic nomination,it would be the same as giving the White House to the republicans. The only states he could possibly carry are Vermont,Maine, and Massachusetts. And he would be lucky to do that. Those big crowds mean nothing. People go out of curiosity to them.hillary will have twenty times the money to spend. Most people realize that once she gets in she will quickly move to the center.

  59. @ich, it sounds like you’ve been drinking from @churchlady brown bag, you are hilarious! I’m trying to read your post and you’re on some strong drugs! Bernie Sanders is the REAL DEAL and no matter how delusional you and your beer drinking buddy ”@churchlady” obviously are you BOTH need to educate yourselves. lol

  60. @yoleberry, I see MASSA let you jump on the computer today, listen! if I wanted to hear from a house negro, I’d call clarence thomas or that pathetic excuse for a human being “KEVIN JACKSON” I’m SURE you’re well acquainted with these SELLOUTS!! RIGHT?

  61. berniesanders.com has raised $15 million since April 30 in SMALL donations, without a superpac or a billionaire Daddy Warbucks funder !
    400,000 contributions, 99% of $250 or less.

    DON’T FEED the TROLLS. Feed Bernie !

    Keep repeating:

    Think BIG !
    Billionaire Class !

  62. 50,000 goal was for the last Week not the 2 month period.

    She had far more donors than anybody and that is clear by simple math. 91% of 45 million. Divided by 100.

    Plus her pacs have 24 million more.

    70 million in 2 1/2 mo. Two weeks for exact figures release.

  63. Federal Elections Commission reporting tells a story:

    Sanders FEC report…
    Sanders’ campaign brought in some $15 million since April 30, when he launched his bid for the Democratic Party presidential nomination.
    Ninety-nine percent of the almost 400,000 contributions by some 250,000 individuals were for $250 or less.
    The average donation was $33.51.

    Clinton FEC report…
    More than $45 million has been raised in donations since Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton announced her campaign in April, according to aides. Missing from the fundraising total is a breakdown of the number of donors to the Clinton campaign, the average donation, or how many have contributed the $2,700 legal maximum for a primary campaign. If the majority of the campaign contributions turn out to be $100 or less, implications are that, at least in the early stages, her candidacy enjoys broad-based grassroots support. In an earlier tweet, the Clinton campaign set a goal of 50,000 donations. In emails to supporters on Tuesday, Clinton said they were still 4,000 under their goal.

  64. @knight4444

    I’ve read plenty of your incoherent posts, so I wouldn’t accuse people of being on anything. Seriously.

    Bernie Sanders is a great rabble-rouser, but he’d make a LOUSY president who wouldn’t be more than a lame-duck one-termer. It doesn’t matter. He’s not going to win anyway. But you keep dreamin’!

    Fact of the matter is, not everyone is as easily swooned by pretty words asyou apparently are.

  65. LMFAO, @ich, you need to take a break! ONE ONES buying your BULL$HIT! theres a reason why you and your beer drinking buddy @churchlady collectively got 33 thumbs up votes to 133 thumbs DOWN votes! on this thread alone! I might be incoherent by your standards but 33 to 133 tells me all I need know about you! now stop acting like a little “ICH”

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